Tajikistan/Kyrgyzstan to N. Pakistan route - update???

Ladies & Gents,



I was wondering if there?s any update re. getting from the Stans to Northern Pakistan. Other than dicing with death through Afghanistan, one obviously has to go via Xinchiang, China, but is it still the case that the only overland option is through the Torug Art pass, Kyrgyzstan, and only
if you have pre-arranged an expensive guide-escort to meet you (arranged through Kashgar) and accompany you the Pakistan border?

I had read that the ?locals-only? rule for passage from Tajikistan into Xinchiang via the more southerly Kulma pass might be lifted.

Having read the previous threads, I certainly don?t plant to miss Kyrgyzstan. It?s a question of keeping the being-fleeced to a minimum. If the Kulma pass is now open, then instead of being in the Pamirs/TJ in August and Kyrgyzstan Sept to get the best of the mountain weather then, in theory, it could be done the other way round, given the shared border with Uzbekistan.

Any thoughts would be gratefully received.

All the best,

Luckro

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