Pakistan eyes multibillion dollars of investment as it hosts summit on country's minerals sector

Oil- and mineral-rich Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest but also least populated province.

Pakistan is pitching investments in its mines and minerals sector to delegations from the United States, Saudi Arabia and China as it opened a summit Tuesday during which authorities hope to bring billions of dollars in investments.

The event aims to spotlight Pakistan’s vast reserves of copper, gold, lithium and other minerals while promoting investment opportunities in the long-overlooked sector.

The Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum was inaugurated by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, who said in televised remarks that “Pakistan is strategically positioned to emerge as a global mining powerhouse.” He added that the country holds one of the world’s largest unexplored reserves and is offering incentives to potential investors.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the country’s powerful army chief Gen. Asim Munir also attended the event.

Pakistan is home to significant mineral wealth, including world’s one of the largest copper and gold deposits in Reko Diq, a district in the restive southwestern province of Balochistan, which has witnessed a surge in attacks on security forces and foreigners by Baloch separatists in recent years.

Oil- and mineral-rich Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest but also least populated province. It is a hub for the country’s ethnic Baloch minority, whose members say they face discrimination and exploitation by the central government.

Pakistan says it has quelled the insurgency in Balochistan, but the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army has continued to mount attacks as recently as last month.

The BLA mostly targets security forces and foreigners, especially Chinese nationals who are in Pakistan as part of Beijing’s multibillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative. The BLA wants a halt to all Chinese-funded projects and for Chinese workers to leave Pakistan.