New Delhi, April 26 (IANS) The Pakistan government and its military chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, have, as part of their propaganda campaign to woo the US, been presenting the country’s mineral wealth as a source of unlimited riches ready to be reaped at short notice, but the ground realities are far more complex.

The official yearbook of Pakistan’s Ministry of Energy has long catalogued copper, gold, coal, iron ore, chromite, limestone, marble, gypsum, and gemstones as part of the country’s resource wealth. “Yet resource wealth on paper is not the same as value in the treasury. The political temptation is to point to large headline numbers at investment forums and treat them as future income,” according to an article in Fair Observer.

“That is why Pakistan should stop talking about minerals as if extraction alone were development. The real prize lies further down the value chain: processing, refining, smelting, cutting, certification, engineering services, logistics, and specialised manufacturing linked to copper, industrial minerals and gemstones. To get there, the country needs better geological data, predictable licensing, reliable electricity, water planning, roads, rail links and vocational training. It also needs rules that people can trust,” it stated.

It highlights that Pakistan’s current environmental regulations are not sufficient, as they have led to an alienation of the local communities. The article points out that in Balochistan, especially, the question is not only how much copper or gold leaves the ground, but also who gets jobs, receives royalties, gets clean water and bears the environmental cost. A mining boom without local legitimacy will remain politically fragile and difficult to sustain, no matter how attractive the reserve estimates appear in an official reform pitch.

The observation comes against the backdrop of armed attacks by Baloch insurgents on various mining locations in the restive region, where several people have been killed.

Pakistan should see minerals as a bridge to a more competitive economy, not as a substitute for one. The country still needs tax reform, export diversification, a healthier power sector and a business climate that rewards production rather than access. The article states that only exporting minerals will not lead to development in Pakistan, the article added.

–IANS

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