From bankruptcy to buried treasure: Pakistan's new gold rush (and missing bullets)
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Even before Tuesday's horrific news in Pahalgam, Pakistan was in the news. Teetering on the abyss of bankruptcy with one foot on a banana peel and a censorious IMF begrudgingly providing it with a safety net, the country has overnight discovered a bonanza of untold wealth.On April 8, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif addressed the two-day Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum 2025, which was attended by almost 300 international delegates. He revealed that his country has untapped mineral resources of rare earths, gemstones, copper and gold, the extraction of which would bring 'trillions of dollars' into the nation's coffers, which currently are the repository of a large number of cobwebs and the cadaver of a long-expired spider that had succumbed to overwork.Asserting that Pakistan has natural resources to become a major player in the global mining industry , Sharif referred to the discovery of industrial minerals and gems at the Reko Diq site in Balochistan, and copper and gold deposits in other parts of the country. Inviting investors to tap this underground treasure trove, he expressed confidence that the country would get out of its chronic debt trap 'if we all come together and act with determination'.Speaking at the same venue, deputy PM Ishaq Dar identified Pakistan as 'strategically positioned to emerge as a global mining powerhouse, which could reshape global supply chains and attract foreign investment through investor-friendly initiatives'. He assured the audience that all stakeholders' interests would be considered while developing the sector.This heaven-sent reprieve comes not a moment too soon for the nation, the economy of which was booming, literally, with its long-term major export of jihad, the latest in Kashmir, having boomeranged back on itself in a series of deadly bomb blasts, perpetrated by those who were all dressed up to kill, but nowhere to go for gainful employment.The other local enterprise of kidnapping for ransom had also hit a roadblock when it transpired that the kidnappees were being traded like stocks and shares by successive abductors, causing an inevitable market crash thanks to overvaluations which led to a rampaging bear run.For a brief while, a spark of hope had been kindled by the unlikely source of the tourism department that launched a campaign to promote the site of the ancient city of Mohenjo-daro. Built in 2500 BCE Mohenjo-daro - which in Urdu means 'Mound of the Dead Men', was one of the earliest urban centres in the world, along with those in ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia and Minoan Crete.However, the excitement caused by this tourism plan turned out to be a flash in the pan. On closer inspection, it was discovered that what mistakenly had been assumed to be the relics of Mohenjo-daro were, in fact, the purlieus of downtown Karachi.To give it credit, the National Tourism Board did come up with a Plan B - to showcase the country as the ideal destination for those in search of new extreme adventure sports, having got bored with such humdrum diversions as bungee jumping and skydiving.But as promising as this idea was, being backed by exhortative advertising - 'Come to where the real action is! Come and have a blast in Balochistan where every day is an IED, Improvised Explosive Day!' - it was overtaken by events when mass deportations and detentions by the Trump regime made the US outrank Pakistan as a high-risk destination for those in search of thrills and chills.Things were looking decidedly bleak when the headline-making news broke about the country's hitherto unknown and unsuspected mineral riches waiting to be salvaged from the obscurity of earthly depths, and brought into the light of bounteous day. Admittedly, all this salvaging was going to take time. Meanwhile, to tide things over, a large cache of ready-to-market lead had been found.The provenance of the metal was something of a mystery, made enigmatic in that, by some unaccountable coincidence, the army's arsenal had been rendered bereft of all its bullets. They had vanished without a trace.
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