Now, five tunnels directly connect Pakistan with China

Islamabad: Raising security concerns along with the borders between India and its two foe-turned-friend nations, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday inaugurated five tunnels on the key Karakoram Highway that connects the country with China.

The official Twitter handle of Radio Pakistan tweeted some pictures of the event earlier today.

In pictures, PM #NawazSharif's visit to #GilgitBaltistan pic.twitter.com/tQAfam8qXq — Radio Pakistan (@RadioPakistan) September 14, 2015

The Karakoram Highway would play a significant role in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the prime minister said.

"Both the Chinese and Pakistani governments are working hard for early completion of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project. Under this project, works on some power projects have already been started," Sharif said.

The prime minister further expressed satisfaction that hundreds of thousands of tourists visited the northern areas of Pakistan this year.

According to a BBC report, these tunnels have been constructed by China over the Attabad Lake in Gilgit-Baltistan's Hunza valley. The project has been named as Pakistan-China Friendship Tunnels.

The project has been completed in a span of three years and two months. The tunnels have been constructed by the National Highway Authority (NHA) in collaboration with the China Road and Bridge Corporation. The Engineers of both China and Pakistan has worked upon this project.

The seven kilometre long five tunnels are part of the 24km long portion of the Karakorum Highway (KKH) which was damaged five years ago.

In 2010, a huge landslide had blocked the flow of Hunza River and developed an artificial lake. The disaster had also claimed several lives, submerged surrounding villages and displaced around.