Pakistan’s tribal belt; a treasure trove

South Waziristan is very rich in copper, gold, chromite, marble, granite and oil & gas

The tribal regions of Pakistan were once, widely considered as one of the most volatile regions in the world. Few are aware that they are the treasure trove for economic prosperity in the country.

The tribal regions are known for their distinctive variety, and exquisite quality of natural resources. The province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, is blessed with a variety of rare and precious reservoirs.

Adnan Khan 32, hails from Mardan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He is associated with the marble industry in Pakistan.  He often travels to the tribal belt. His concern is that the locals are unwittingly destroying the minerals, as they are unaware of their worth.

He shares his concern saying, that the majority of the locals, either dig for the minerals improperly, or use explosives. The blasts destroy the natural reservoirs, and invariably has an adverse effect on the economy of Pakistan.

He further talks about the local economic conditions; explaining that extremism and militancy have brought about poor economic and trade activities in the tribal region. This forces the locals to apply unnecessary pressure by the use of explosives, further damaging these natural resevoirs.

The marble businessman pointed out, that the effects of such diggings are damaging the rich resources in the tribal belt. It also inflicts irreparable damage to eco-system of the area,  He sheds light over the governmental efforts, saying that the government does not show any interest. It seems that the government has no proper, planned systems, to explore the mineral resources, because no industries were set up in the area.

He adds that the region is not yet feasible for many traders and businessmen. This is because the majority of traders have migrated to other parts of the country. He theorised that, they migrated because of the fear of being kidnapped for ransom; or killed by unknown armed groups.

The tribal belt of Pakistan shares its borders with Afghanistan. This area saw the worst law and order situation since 2004, when military operations were launched to combat terrorists in the area.

The region has unexplored variety of expensive minerals like marbles, gypsum, granite and gold, which, if extracted properly, can change the fate of the tribal region of Pakistan.  Rehmat Khan, is a senior ex Soil & Mineral expert for the United Nations in the tribal areas of Pakistan.  He claimed that the tribal region is blessed with a wealth of minerals. Besides the naturally occurring minerals, the region holds a unique geographical location, and mountainous beauty of Pakistan.

He elaborates that the often discussed Bajaur area has marbles manganese, chromite and emerald. Mohmand region is rich in marble, chromite, silica sand, dolomite, manganese, quartz, feldspar and emeralds

Other resources in some other districts, like the Khyber tribal region has marble, barite, graphite, soapstone, limestone, oil, gas and bastnasite (rare earth mineral. Similarly, the Orakzai region has coal, iron ore and oil and gas.

The Kurram district has soapstone, coal, marble, magnesite, iron ore, lead, oil and gas and North Waziristan has huge resources of copper, gold, nickel, manganese, chromite, magnesite, granite (dimension stone) and oil and gas, Khan added. While, according to Khan, South Waziristan, is very rich in copper, gold, chromite, marble, granite, oil and gas.  Frontier regions of Kohat, Peshawar, Tank and DI Khan had huge deposits of coal, limestone, oil and gas, bentonite, limestone, gypsum, marl and cement grade limestone, Khan added.

The expert on the soil & mineral affairs points out that these rich marble reserves offer unique opportunities for domestic and international investors to earn maximum of their returns on investments in the tribal regions of Pakistan.

He added that the marble produced in this region has great demand within the country and abroad.  According to him, 60 % of tribal distract has been geologically explored, to identify the existence and potential of the natural resources.  He suggested that if the provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is fully focused on its exploration, by introducing the modern techniques, then it will give a major economic boost in the province and tribal belt of Pakistan

The government seems reluctant to bring upgrade the method of mining, which is wasting natural resources.  The authorities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have so far identified 19 different minerals other than marble, in the tribal belt of Pakistan.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, there are around 14,700 MT marble present in the four tribal districts including 8,450 MT in Mohmand, 5,850 MT in Bajaur, 345 MT in Khyber and 65MT in Kurram  The above data was revealed by the Integrated Districts Development Plan study conducted by the government of Pakistan in 2021.

Talking to the government official in mines and mineral department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on conditions on anonymity, said that the tribal districts in Pakistan are rich in mineral resources, especially coal, dimension stones and other industrial minerals. He explained that previously, mineral development was carried out by FATA development authority, now, after the merger, the provincial mineral development department has extended its writ, and taken control of the mineral development work in the area.

The official said that the provincial mines and mineral department has signed memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the geological survey of Pakistan to map and hunt out the unexplored natural resources in the tribal areas of Pakistan.

He further shed light that, the tribal belt has been facing lack of land records, for which, the department has conducted ‘Khuli kachahri’, a local form of ‘open court’ in seven tribal districts to find the resolution.

Recently, oil and gas reserves have been discovered in North Waziristan, a newly merged tribal district with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The new discovery was made by the Mari Petroleum, which will yield 25 MMCFD of gas and 300 barrels of oil per day.

“This is the first oil and gas discovery in North Waziristan,” spokeswoman Mari Petroleum said in a statement announcing the good news about the tribal area.

He said the new discovery would increase the country’s hydrocarbon reserves, and help to meet the demand for oil and gas across Pakistan. He added that the discovery of local resources would also save foreign exchange reserves.