Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Friday that Balochistan’s mineral wealth belongs first and foremost to its people, telling a national workshop in Quetta that the province’s vast resources remain “trapped inside the mountains” for lack of capital and technical expertise.
‘The Wealth Belongs to the People’
Addressing the closing ceremony of the four-day Balochistan National Workshop, held in Quetta from August 18 to 21, the prime minister said close cooperation between the federal and provincial governments was essential to develop the province’s natural resources. “The mineral resources of the province are trapped inside the mountains of Balochistan, and there should be no doubt that this mineral wealth and assets belong first and foremost to the people of Balochistan, whether they are from Makran, Lasbela, Chaman or any other area,” Shehbaz said, according to the Express Tribune.
He described Balochistan as Pakistan’s richest province in terms of natural resources, but said that wealth would remain untapped unless federal and provincial authorities worked together to attract the capital and expertise needed to develop it.
Security Concerns Acknowledged
The prime minister acknowledged that people in Balochistan face genuine challenges and said it would be wrong to claim otherwise. He strongly condemned violence and targeted killings carried out in the name of seeking rights and resources, alleging that the militant group Fitna al-Khawarij and other insurgents were being funded by hostile countries. Shehbaz praised the armed forces and law enforcement agencies for what he described as their sacrifices in fighting terrorism in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Balochistan hosts some of Pakistan’s most significant mineral deposits, including the Reko Diq copper-gold project and the Saindak copper-gold mine, both located in the province’s Chagai district. The area has drawn growing interest from international investors, including Barrick Mining’s multibillion dollar stake in Reko Diq and continued Chinese involvement in Saindak, even as decades of underdevelopment and instability in the region complicate large-scale investment.
Infrastructure and Dialogue Offered
Shehbaz pointed to the Rs415 billion allocated for the Karachi-Chaman Expressway as evidence of federal commitment to the province, describing the project as an effort to turn a historically troubled route into what he called a “highway of peace.” He said the government remained willing to initiate a Grand Dialogue to address Balochistan’s legitimate concerns through peaceful means. “We are willing to sit and listen to the legitimate concerns of the people of Balochistan,” he said, adding that Pakistan could only achieve sustainable progress once all four provinces developed together.
The workshop brought together Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti, federal ministers, members of the provincial assembly and leaders from various political parties in the province, according to the Express Tribune.
Why It Matters
The remarks come as Islamabad pushes to position Balochistan at the center of a broader critical minerals strategy, courting investment from the United States, Gulf states and China as global demand grows for copper, rare earths and other resources used in electronics, defence and clean energy technology. Officials and analysts have repeatedly cautioned that translating geological potential into sustained economic growth will depend on whether the province’s security and governance challenges can be managed alongside the investment drive.
