ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday chaired a high-level review meeting on establishing three Centers of Excellence for gemstone processing, reiterating his government’s resolve to align the country’s mining and cutting industry with international standards to boost exports.
اسلام آباد: 27 اپریل 2026.
وزیرِ اعظم محمد شہباز شریف کا پاکستان میں قیمتی پتھروں کی کان کنی و پراسیسنگ کی بین الاقوامی معیار سے ہم آہنگی اور انکی برآمدات میں اضافے کا عزم، وزیرِ اعظم نے ملک میں تین سینٹر آف ایکسیلینس کے قیام پر جائزہ اجلاس کی صدارت کی.
اجلاس میں گفتگو کرتے… pic.twitter.com/QitewfUp2l
— Prime Minister’s Office (@PakPMO) April 27, 2026
The meeting came four days after a natural resources site in Balochistan’s Chagai district came under attack, leaving at least nine people dead. A Turkish national was among those killed while another Turkish national was abducted, according to reports.
https://archive.mmnews.tv/natural-resources-site-comes-under-attack-in-balochistans-chagai/
Addressing the meeting, the premier said Pakistan’s natural resources, including precious gemstones, represent a sector where exports can be “substantially increased using local resources.” He directed the Ministry of Planning to prepare a comprehensive action plan for processing Pakistani gemstones and enhancing overseas sales, stressing that “transparency should be given importance” in the establishment of the centers.
Officials briefed the meeting on promoting modern methods of gemstone processing and mining. The government is establishing three Centers of Excellence dedicated to cutting, polishing, and setting gemstones into jewelry. Land has already been identified for two centers in Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, while work is underway to identify a site in Islamabad. The Ministry of Planning will finalize the action plan and present it to the prime minister shortly.
The renewed focus on securing and modernizing the extractive sector coincides with deepening mineral diplomacy with Washington. Since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, Pakistan has pursued multiple high-level contacts with the Trump administration on critical minerals, rare earth elements, and gemstones.
On September 8, two memorandums of understanding were signed at the PM House in a ceremony attended by Sharif, Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, and senior US officials including Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Zach Harkenrider. The headline agreement with Missouri-based United States Strategic Metals (USSM) committed $500 million to Pakistan’s mineral sector, covering antimony, copper, gold, tungsten, and rare earth elements.
In September 2025, Sharif and Field Marshal Munir met President Trump at the White House, where they presented a wooden display box containing mineral samples — including bastanzite and monazite bearing rare earths — and gemstones. In August, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington looked forward to exploring cooperation with Pakistan on critical minerals and hydrocarbons.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir showed Trump rare earth metals and precious stones from Pakistan’s mines. pic.twitter.com/G39cBk1eSz
— Clash Report (@clashreport) September 28, 2025
Pakistan dispatched its first shipment of rare earth and critical minerals to the US in October 2025 under the new partnership. A $1.25 billion financing package from the US Export-Import Bank for the Reko Diq copper-gold project in Balochistan was also approved in December 2025.
Analysts say the government’s domestic push on gemstones complements the broader strategy of leveraging Pakistan’s estimated untapped mineral wealth for strategic partnerships. The planned Centers of Excellence aim to shift the country from raw stone exports toward value-added jewelry, aligning with international processing standards that major partners like the United States have prioritized in recent agreements.
With security at resource sites under fresh scrutiny after the Chagai attack, the prime minister’s emphasis on transparency and modernization signals Islamabad’s intent to stabilize and formalize a sector now central to both economic and diplomatic outreach. The Ministry of Planning has been tasked with delivering the action plan “soon.”
