ISLAMABAD: In a startling revelation, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Haroon Akhtar has disclosed that Pakistan is losing up to 40 percent of its precious gemstones due to primitive and unscientific mining methods, crippling a sector with a potential export value of $2 billion.
The statement was made during a meeting of the Prime Minister’s Committee on Gemstone Policy, chaired by Haroon Akhtar and attended by Minister of State Bilal Azhar Kayani and Advisor Rana Ehsan Afzal. Akhtar pinpointed “old mining methods and technology” as the primary culprit, leading to the massive loss of half the production during extraction.
He further lamented that the lack of documented records means the country’s actual gem exports are not properly registered, with the current official figure standing at a meager $7 million—a fraction of its multi-billion dollar potential. The sector, he noted, is plagued by a lack of international cooperation and investment, and most gems are exported in their raw form without any value addition, severely undervaluing the resource.
The committee concluded that with the adoption of modern mining technology and a focus on value addition within the country, the production and exports of gems could be multiplied many times over. To formulate a concrete path forward, Haroon Akhtar directed all stakeholders to present a clear five-year analysis and export forecast for the gemstone industry, signaling a push for serious policy intervention.
Meanwhile in an interview Defense Minister Khawaja Asif has declared that proxy wars in Pakistan, orchestrated by India through Afghanistan, have intensified, while issuing a stark warning about a renewed threat of conventional war with its eastern neighbor.
In a special interview on SAMAA News, the minister stated that India seeks to influence Pakistan via Afghanistan “to erase its shame,” a reference to the 2019 Balakot incident. He confirmed that the threat of war with India, which escalated last May, still persists and that the US has acknowledged Pakistan’s victory in that standoff.
