ISLAMABAD (The Thursday Times) — Pakistan’s provincial leaders used the opening day of the Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum on Thursday to promise foreign investors faster approvals and security, as the country seeks outside capital to develop its mineral reserves.
Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti assured investors of a secure environment and said the province would offer them a one-window operation. He said Balochistan was rich in minerals, oil, and gas, and that it planned to digitise its mines and minerals department before July next year, alongside two oil and gas projects, the Saruna and Sui fertiliser cities.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi invited investors into the province’s mining sector, promising security and a one-window facilitation system. He said the focus should be on long-term partnerships rather than quick financial commitments, and expressed hope that investors would have more confidence in the province’s peace and stability by the time the forum meets again next year.
Punjab’s numbers
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz said the province’s revenue from its mines and minerals department had risen fourfold, from Rs10 billion to Rs40 billion, in two and a half years. She outlined concessional land leases, government-subsidised financing of up to Rs5 billion, and a mineral processing zone at Quaidabad in Khushab offered on 15-year leases. She also spoke of gold in Punjab’s rivers, saying a survey was under way.
Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s prime minister, Barrister Syed Iftikhar Ali Gillani, said the region had large untapped deposits of precious and semi-precious stones, including ruby, tourmaline, and topaz, and was looking for investors to develop them.
The federal pitch
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar told the forum, which has drawn representatives of more than 60 countries, that the Investment Policy 2023 protected investors and allowed them to repatriate profits, and that the Special Investment Facilitation Council would settle federal and provincial issues through a single window. “Our objective is straightforward: to make Pakistan a predictable, competitive and facilitative destination for long-term investment,” he said.
Petroleum Secretary Hameed Yaqoob Sheikh said offshore exploration was beginning with support from Türkiye. The two-day forum ends on Friday.
