Umme Haniya<\/p>\n
Imagine a Pakistan where our youth find good jobs not in far?off cities but in their hometowns, where mineral royalties fund schools in Quetta, roads in Swat, and hospitals in Karachi. Next week\u2019s visit by a U.S. delegation led by Eric Meyer could make that vision real. Tasked with bolstering counter?terrorism ties and scouting economic partnerships, their focus on our $6?trillion mineral treasure chest is a wake?up call: it\u2019s time to stop exporting raw narratives of crisis and start exporting refined success.
\nFrom the copper and gold veins of Balochistan to the marble quarries of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan\u2019s subterranean wealth has long been overshadowed by bureaucracy, insecurity, and missed opportunity. But as the world\u2019s investors gather for the Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum 2025, we stand on the brink of transformation if we dare to seize it.
\nIt is telling that critics of the Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum 2025, operating from the comfort of their homes or the dark corridors of social media cloak themselves in lofty talk of \u201cdemocracy,\u201d even as they undermine our economic revival. Their real aim is to freeze Pakistan in a narrative of perpetual crisis. But we must reject this cynical script. Our youth (60?per cent of the population) are not content with handouts or headlines of despair. They demand opportunity: decent jobs, rising incomes, and a stake in their own country\u2019s future.
\nThe upcoming Minerals Forum is more than a conference. It is a declaration of intent. By bringing together investors, technocrats, and local entrepreneurs, we can cut through bureaucracy, secure cutting?edge technology, and establish transparent revenue?sharing models that ensure every province (and every community) benefits. Imagine highways built on mineral royalties, schools funded by mining dividends, and hospitals equipped by export earnings. This is not fantasy: nations such as Chile and Australia have shown how responsible mineral development can lift millions out of poverty.
\nOpponents warn of \u201cforeign control,\u201d but true sovereignty comes from strong institutions and clear regulations, not isolation. Pakistan\u2019s federal and provincial authorities must work in concert to draft a modern mining code; one that protects the environment, guarantees fair wages, and imposes strict anti?corruption safeguards. An empowered regulatory body, answerable to parliament and civil society, will keep all actors (domestic and foreign) on the straight and narrow.
\nTo our overseas Pakistanis: your remittances sustain millions, but your ideas and investments can transform the nation. Instead of casting stones from afar, bring your capital, your expertise, and your networks home. Mentor a mining cooperative in Zhob. Fund a pilot smelter in Swat. Help build the next generation of engineers at the University of Balochistan. Your homeland needs more than sympathy: it needs your active partnership.
\nBlackmailing our progress with doomsday forecasts will not feed our children or power our factories. The U.S. delegation\u2019s visit is a chance to reset the narrative\u2013from dependency to self?reliance. If we move swiftly, transparently, and boldly, Pakistan can join the league of resource?rich nations that have turned earth\u2019s bounty into shared prosperity.
\nJago Pakistan, Jago! Let us seize this moment and build the future our people deserve.<\/p>\n
The writer is a freelance columnist.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Umme Haniya Imagine a Pakistan where our youth find good jobs not in far?off cities but in their hometowns, where mineral royalties fund schools in Quetta, roads in Swat, and hospitals in Karachi. Next week\u2019s visit by a U.S. delegation led by Eric Meyer could make that vision real. Tasked with bolstering counter?terrorism ties and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[13612],"class_list":{"0":"post-471289","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-article","7":"tag-umme-haniyaumme-haniya"},"yoast_head":"\n