ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar said on Thursday the country’s mineral sector could help generate a parallel revenue stream, reducing its reliance on external loans and enabling it to pay off foreign debts.

A $350 billion economy, Pakistan faces a chronic balance of payments crisis, requiring nearly $24 billion to repay in debt and interest over the next fiscal year, which is substantially more than the central bank’s current foreign currency reserves of $14.64 billion.

Last month, Pakistan reached a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a new $7 billion bailout after completing a short-term, $3 billion loan program in April this year.

The $3 billion facility helped Islamabad avert a sovereign debt default last year. The government says it seeks a fresh loan to keep its ongoing economic reforms on track.

“Pakistan has an abundance of tested and certified natural reservoirs of minerals, which have a proven cost of $10,000 billion,” the deputy PM said while addressing a ceremony at the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan in Islamabad. “So, a $130 billion dollars liability is no challenge.”

Highlighting that Pakistan was an asset-solvent country, he called for streamlining the gemstone sector and make sure it was “properly exploited and explored” for sustainable economic development in the country.

Dar said Pakistan faced twin deficits in the shape of both fiscal and foreign accounts in the past, though he maintained they were manageable through comprehensive planning and economic reforms.

He noted the incumbent government’s main focus included structural reforms, bilateral trade and foreign direct investment, terming them imperative to get rid of dependence on foreign institutions.

“Pakistan has huge potential to join G-20 countries through structural reforms in the country’s economy,” he said.

In June this year, Pakistani exporters and traders of gemstones and jewelry items urged the government to adopt modern technological methods and remove restrictions to boost exports of these goods from the South Asian country.

Earlier, in May, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif emphasized the importance of developing Pakistan’s gems and precious stones sector, urging authorities to take steps to grant it industry status.

Sharif highlighted that Pakistan possesses immense natural resources, particularly in the regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

According to a report by Pakistan’s commerce ministry, the country’s exports of pearls and precious stones to China saw a 47 percent increase in 2023, reflecting a rising demand for these resources in China.

ISLAMABAD: At least 27 people were killed and 18 wounded in rain-related incidents in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and eastern Punjab provinces in the last three days, official statements revealed on Thursday, as heavy monsoon rains with flash floods lashed parts of the country.
The monsoon season is crucial for the region, providing essential water for agriculture, which is the backbone of Pakistan’s economy. However, unprecedented cloudbursts driven by climate change have increasingly turned this vital weather pattern into a threat.
Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority warned earlier this week on Monday strong monsoon currents from the Bay of Bengal would trigger heavy rains and flash floods in Punjab, Azad Kashmir, Sindh and KP province.
“As a result of accidents due to recent rains, 24 people died and 17 people were injured during the last three days in KP,” the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) of KP said on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Punjab PDMA also mentioned the death of three people in Lahore in the last 12 hours and injuries to one.
A total of 150 houses were damaged in KP due to gusty winds and heavy rainfall of which 77 were partially damaged while 73 were destroyed, it said.
In Punjab, the eastern city of Lahore recorded the most amount of rainfall measuring at 337 millimeters with local media channels showing footage of roads, houses and even hospitals being inundated by floodwater.
“In the last 24 hours, Lahore recorded 337 mm, Gujranwala 123mm, Narowal 70mm, Kasur 62mm, Hafizabad 23mm and Sialkot 11 mm of rain,” the Punjab PDMA said.
Warning that monsoon rains would continue till August 6, it informed arrangements were in place for vulnerable districts with a high risk of flooding. The statement said there was also a high risk of flooding in the Indus and Chenab Rivers.
The top Punjab PDMA official, Irfan Ali Kathia, reaffirmed that control rooms were monitoring the situation.
He requested people to take precautionary measures and avoid touching electrical wires or poles.
“The public should stay away from mud houses and dilapidated buildings,” Kathia said. “Take special care of children and do not allow them near accumulated water in low-lying areas.”