QUETTA: The Balochistan government announced its first mineral policy here on Friday.

Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan Alyani, while announcing the mineral policy 2019 at a ceremony, said it would help in winning the confidence of local and foreign investors interested in Balochistan’s mineral sector. He said that without introducing reforms and an effective mineral policy, the province could not attract investors, boost its economy and generate revenue.

Provincial Ministers Mir Zahoor Buledi, Engineer Zamarak Khan Achakzai, Saleem Khosa, Noor Mohammad Dummar and Nasibullah Marri, Mines Secretary Zahid Saleem, Additional Chief Secretary of P&D Abdul Rehman Buzdar and Bushra Rind attended the ceremony.

Lauding the efforts of the provincial mines and mineral department, CM Alyani said all stakeholders had been taken into confidence while finalising the new policy that had been approved by the provincial cabinet. “Though Balochistan is rich in natural resources, investors are reluctant to come here due to lack of an effective mineral policy,” he added.

He said that past governments had done nothing to develop this important sector which could play an important role in making Balochistan developed and prosperous.

He said the provincial mines and mineral department had collected Rs2.8 billion revenue during 2018-19 against the target of Rs2.4bn.

“We can neither ensure provision of relief to the masses nor achieve goals without developing provincial resources and generating maximum revenue by improving the performance of the provincial departments. Unfortunately, Balochistan has old polices which have failed to attract local and foreign investors, but we are optimistic about the success of our new mineral policy,” the chief minister added.

Mines Secretary Zahid Saleem said that each and every aspect of the mineral policy 2019 had been comprehensively reviewed to ensure a 10pc increase in the mining department’s revenue.

Published in Dawn, August 10th, 2019