Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar assured all-out support of his government to the investors, for the effective utilization of human, and mineral resources of the country. During the signing ceremony of a joint venture agreement between Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation (PMDC) and the US-based Miracle Saltworks Collective Inc. for establishing a dedicated facility for crushing and packaging of pink salt for export purposes, the Prime Minister said, human resources coupled with mineral resources will lead to a stable, prosperous, and rising Pakistan.
Nature blessed Pakistan with unimaginable resources, mineral deposits, an ideal four-season environment, cultivated land, vast reservoirs of flowing fresh waters, high mountaind, deep oceans, and shining blue skies with gashing sunlight which remains available to Pakistani industry, workers, and farmers throughout the year. In the case of mineral deposits, Pakistan has plenty of metallic as well as nonmetallic minerals such as copper, iron ore, chromite, rock salt, gypsum, limestone, sulfur, marble, gold, gemstones, etcetera, etc. However, a huge chunk of these possessions have not yet mined out due to a lack of technical expertise, investment, and inaccessibility of the locations in far-flung areas across Pakistan.
Pakistan is the sole and biggest producer of multiple varieties of salt as the world’s largest reserves of rock salt lie in the country. Pakistan’s pink salt often known as Himalayan pink salt, is a type of rock salt mined in the Salt Range mountains, located in the Punjab, Pakistan. This salt is believed to have various health benefits and is often used in cooking and for treatment purposes due to its supposed therapeutic properties. Its unique color and perceived health benefits have made it popular in culinary and wellness circles worldwide. Unfortunately, India has been exporting Pakistani pink salt to the world as an Indian product in the past decades depriving Pakistan of significant monetary benefits and purloined property rights/ branding of the product. Historically, Pakistani baboos sitting in the Ministry of Commerce and Trade had never been able to protect the country’s interests in concerned areas rather Pakistani industry, manufacturers, and growers themselves create export and investment opportunities for their products. There is a dire need for the registration of Pakistani products and obtaining Geographical Identification (GI Tagging) of minerals and precious hidden deposits available in the country including salt, chromite, gypsum, and others. That will not only increase Country’s export revenue but promote Pakistani brands in the global market.
Historically, the state institutions and relevant ministeries did not undertook their official responsibility in the past, while bureaucrats sitting in the top position spent their time in appeasing political leaders, grabbing lucrative positions, free of cost valuable plots and cultivated land along with employing their wards on important posts in the public sector. That’s why each sector of our national life is in deplorable conditions. The Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) has played an important role in attracting foreign investment and creating an enabling environment for foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country. It served as a one-window facility for the investors besides streamlining processes and removing the bureaucratic hurdles to attract investment in the fields of mining, energy, IT, agriculture, livestock, industry, and tourism. The incumbent government must introduce such a mechanism which ensures merit, transparency, productivity and accountability of each individual at all levels so the governance as well as the growth get at the right track on permanent basis. That is the only way forward for our nation to attain its due prestige in the commity of the nations.
