ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Friday that the federal government will start a pilot project in Gilgit-Baltistan for mining, cutting and value addition of precious stones in accordance with international standards.
The PM said this while presiding over a review meeting regarding the development of the precious stones industry and the reforms of this sector on Friday.
The meeting was informed of the potential of precious stones in the country, the current methods of mining and exports, and was told that there are vast deposits of precious stones in Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Azad Kashmir.
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The meeting was further informed that the traditional methods are being adopted for mining in these areas, due to which, precious stones are being lost and raw materials are mostly smuggled and exported to the whole world after value addition in other countries.
The meeting was told that in spite of the vast amount of reserves, the export of precious stones from Pakistan is a few million dollars. The prime minister was presented proposals regarding the precious stones industry and reforms in this sector with one proposal to create a cluster regarding precious stones in G-B.
The PM entrusted the Federal Minister of Privatization with the responsibility of implementing the proposals and directed him to present the plan of the pilot project in G-B within a week.
While presiding over a meeting for the development of the precious stones industry and reforms of the sector the PM entrusted Federal Minister for Privatisation Abdul Aleem Khan with the responsibility of implementing reforms in the sector.
The PM said the federal government will start a pilot project in G-B for mining, cutting and value addition of precious stones in accordance with international standards.
In this regard, the federal government will provide full financial support to the G-B government, he added.
He directed that the steps should be taken for its implementation by creating a modern plan of action compatible with international standards within a month.
The practical measures and results should be presented regarding the precious stones industry and the reforms of this sector. He said that smuggling of precious stones will not be allowed.
He said the actions should be taken on a priority basis to obtain internationally-accepted certifications of precious stones in Pakistan.
The meeting was briefed that at present, 178 major licences have been given for the mining of precious stones in Pakistan, while 18 types of precious stones are found. And 80 per cent of Pakistan’s precious stone exports are based on raw materials and the development of precious stones industry will increase domestic exports and create new employment opportunities, the meeting was informed.
The prime minister also directed implementation of a comprehensive plan of action for the professional training of the Pakistani workforce in terms of modern mining, cutting, polishing and value addition of precious stones.
The meeting was attended by federal ministers, Jam Kamal Khan, Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Ahad Khan Cheema, Muhammad Aurangzeb, Rana Tanveer Hussain, Dr Mussadik Malik, Governor State Bank Jameel Ahmed, Prime Minister’s Coordinator Rana Ehsan Afzal, and chief secretaries G-B, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and related senior officials.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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