Key Takeaways
- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed displeasure over delays in a gemstone sector pilot project.
- Officials are to submit a comprehensive, time-bound action plan by next week.
- Rs1 billion allocated under the PSDP for sector development this year.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has expressed concern over the slow progress of a pilot project aimed at developing Pakistan’s gemstone sector, ordering officials to submit a comprehensive, time-bound action plan by next week.
During a review meeting, Sharif stressed the importance of the sector’s development, stating that delays in implementing related initiatives would not be tolerated.
The prime minister directed relevant authorities to remove all obstacles to pilot projects and model mines, ensuring their early completion, and called for the establishment of centres of excellence to promote value addition through improved mining, cutting, and polishing techniques.
Sharif highlighted that Pakistan is blessed with abundant natural resources but is losing billions of dollars annually due to substandard mining practices and the smuggling of precious stones.
He called for the development of a complete ecosystem for the sector, covering exploration, mining, cutting, polishing, and preparation for export, to maximize the value of the country’s gemstone resources.
The meeting was informed that 4.8 kanals of land had been transferred for a proposed centre of excellence in Hussainabad, Skardu, and that funding for the project was available, with construction expected to begin soon.
Land has also been identified for similar facilities in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Islamabad, with the Islamabad centre to be made fully operational at an alternative location until its permanent facility is completed.
Geological mapping of identified gemstone-bearing areas has been completed, and eight new blocks in Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been identified for further exploration.
The government has allocated Rs1 billion under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) for the sector’s development this year.
To facilitate exporters, export facilitation desks have been established at 80 branches of 10 banks across seven cities.
