DAWN Editorials 29th August 2026

Mineral treasure

OFFICIALS often state that Pakistan’s untapped mineral wealth can be a potential ‘game-changer’. The planning minister’s recent comment while speaking to a think tank in New York, offers more of the same optimism.

According to Ahsan Iqbal, Pakistan’s mineral endowment was estimated to be worth “more than $7 trillion”. It is not known how the minister arrived at that eye-watering figure. Mr Iqbal also mentioned that exploiting this mineral wealth required major investment, while the “country’s volatile political climate” was the “primary deterrent” to attracting foreign capital in the sector. In other words, this massive bonanza cannot be tapped just yet.

There is little doubt that Pakistan has immense untapped mineral wealth, including critical minerals, which have become a hot commodity globally due to their use in emerging technologies. Independent assessments have endorsed Pakistan’s mineral potential, although the state’s estimates about the true value of this wealth, and those of third parties, vary considerably.

It is also a fact that currently, the mining sector’s contribution to total GDP is miniscule. Pakistan’s lack of funds, expertise and technology are the main impediments standing in the way of exploiting this potential. The Americans have expressed interest in our critical minerals, while the Chinese have also invested in the mining sector. But the biggest obstacle in attracting foreign capital and expertise is the poor security situation in the areas where Pakistan’s mineral wealth is concentrated: Balochistan and KP.

The prime need, therefore, is to improve the security situation if the state is serious about foreign investors putting their money into the mining sector. A securitised approach alone will not yield the desired results. As mining activity largely takes place in areas with high poverty, the investment must bring socioeconomic improvements to the lives of the local population. Residents living near mining projects must have first priority where training and jobs are concerned, while those firms profiting from the area should also invest in infrastructure improvement and corporate social responsibility.

Moreover, the trend so far has been for investors to dig up raw material and haul it away overseas for value-addition. To create a lasting economic impact, along with extraction, downstream industries are required which are capable of processing and adding value to the raw material. This will help create more jobs.

Pakistan’s mineral wealth can bring dividends if it benefits the local people, and helps diversify the economy. Therefore, the state must concentrate on security, community development as well as policy continuity to attract foreign investment to the mining sector. Otherwise, Pakistan’s mineral treasure worth trillions will end up becoming a ‘resource curse’.

Published in Dawn, August 29th, 2026

Dissent aborted

EVER since the Taliban took power in 2021, international human rights bodies have criticised them for their harsh style of governance and curbs on fundamental freedoms inside Afghanistan. Most recently, Human Rights Watch condemned their “ruthless effort to suppress all dissent” after a new police law banned protests in the country; Amnesty International described the decree as “a sweeping assault on human rights in Afghanistan”. Such draconian measures have made dissent a rare sight under the Taliban administration — especially when protests are met with brutal state force as seen in June. Given the Taliban’s narrow worldview, the escalating repression — especially against women — is hardly surprising. Soon after they came to power, reports emerged of crackdowns on dissent and restrictions on women. In 2021, many protested publicly against armed Taliban patrolling; several deaths were reported. Rights bodies have also pointed to the targeting of the Hazara community. Yet Western nations look away from the mess they created.

Oppressive regimes control narratives so that the state’s version dominates. In an interconnected world, denying the right to peaceful assembly and marches will backfire. Such a degree of control is precisely what turns people against their rulers. With this latest measure, atrocities against women, the media and pro-democracy activists will be airbrushed out of reports. The world must put pressure on the Taliban to connect with ordinary Afghans and honour their earlier promises of maintaining inclusivity. In any democratic society, the state exercises moderation and acts only in cases of violence and hate speech. Not so in Afghanistan where the Taliban’s senseless approach is codified in the law — meaning further tyranny against the people. Their actions have aborted any hope of progress. Rulers are accountable to the people. A rights-based order that protects people saves power from being seen as a dictatorship.

Published in Dawn, August 29th, 2026

Nepal-China floods

JUST before 8am Pakistan time on Wednesday, a glacier collapsed in the central Himalayas, triggering flash floods and mudslides along the Nepal-China border. The disaster killed hundreds and left many missing or displaced. According to international reports, a part of a glacier in or immediately adjacent to the Langtang Himal range near Nepal collapsed and plunged onto the valley floor, causing an avalanche of ice and rock to crash into the Lhende River about 20 kilometres northeast of a border crossing. The ice and rock initially dammed the river, but the blockage eventually collapsed under the pressure, sending a wall of ice, mud, rock and water roaring downstream. At least 19 bridges and about 40km of roads were destroyed or washed away in the deluge. Multiple hydropower projects were damaged, and power, communications, and road access were severely disrupted in the affected region. Days on, more than 400 people have been confirmed dead, and over 1,500 are said to be missing across Nepal and China, including hundreds of foreign nationals. There are lessons in the incident for Pakistan which should not be ignored.

While this disaster affected a part of the world Pakistanis may seldom think about, our country faces analogous and, in some respects, more extensive risks. Pakistan holds more glaciers than any other place on the planet outside the polar regions. They feed the Indus, on which the nation’s agriculture, power and drinking water depend. Rising temperatures have also created thousands of glacial lakes in Gilgit-Baltistan and KP, of which 33 are considered hazardous and liable to burst. The frequency of Glof events has been rising in recent years with global warming, which is why this is no longer some abstract risk. An ice avalanche, heatwave, heavy rain, or seismic activity can unleash here precisely what has unfolded in Nepal. To its credit, Pakistan has invested in monitoring and early-warning networks, as well as community training under Glof projects. The NDMA and the relevant agencies in GB and KP should be given the resources to take that programme forward with enhanced monitoring and surveillance capabilities and stronger disaster response mechanisms in high-risk areas. Nepal’s catastrophe should put an end to any lingering notion that such disasters are black swan events. In a fast-warming region, they are foreseeable, and preparedness for any eventuality is the best option we may have available.

Published in Dawn, August 29th, 2026