{"id":352285,"date":"2025-08-17T18:40:12","date_gmt":"2025-08-17T18:40:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/352285\/"},"modified":"2025-08-17T18:40:12","modified_gmt":"2025-08-17T18:40:12","slug":"asim-munir-bets-on-reko-diq-to-become-a-developed-nation-but-can-it-ignore-china-and-baloch-threat-world-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/352285\/","title":{"rendered":"Asim Munir bets on Reko Diq to become a developed nation – but can it ignore China and Baloch threat – World News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pakistan<\/a>\u2019s Chief of Army Staff, General Asim Munir<\/a>, has laid out a bold vision to transform Pakistan into a developed nation within the next five to ten years. In an interview with Daily Jang, Munir stressed that the country\u2019s path to economic revival lies in Balochistan\u2019s rare earth reserves. According to him, these resources have the potential to rescue Pakistan from its deepening debt crisis.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom next year, there will be a net profit of two billion dollars every year from Reko Diq, which will increase yearly,\u201d Munir reportedly stated, describing the project as a \u201cnational treasure\u201d capable of reshaping debt-ridden Pakistan\u2019s financial future<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

What do we know about Reko Diq?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Reko Diq, a small town in Balochistan<\/a>, sits atop one of the world\u2019s largest undeveloped copper and gold deposits. The site is part of the Tethyan Magmatic Arc, a geological belt rich in ore. Reports suggest that once operational, the project could yield 200,000 tonnes of copper and 250,000 ounces of gold annually.<\/p>\n

Production is projected to begin by 2028, but Munir has insisted that Pakistan will start to see profits from next year, with an expected $2 billion in net gains that will grow over time. This claim, however, raises questions, given that the project is still under development and subject to both technical and political challenges.<\/p>\n

What Balochistan leaders said?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Munir\u2019s remarks have drawn criticism from Balochistan. Mir Yar Baloch<\/a>, a prominent figure in the independence movement, rejected Pakistan\u2019s claims over the province\u2019s mineral wealth.<\/p>\n

In a post on X, he declared, \u201cThe sixty million people of Balochistan once again wish to remind Pakistan and the international community that the mineral wealth found in Republic of Balochistan does not belong to an artificial state of Pakistan that has existed for merely seventy-seven years, but to the Baloch nation, whose history and presence span over ten thousand years.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Islamabad views Balochistan\u2019s resources as critical to national survival, many Baloch activists see them as symbols of exploitation and argue they should be controlled by local communities.<\/p>\n

Global minerals race<\/strong><\/p>\n

Munir\u2019s timing is not accidental. Rare earth minerals have become a strategic asset in the geopolitical contest among major powers. China<\/a> currently dominates both production and refining, but Beijing\u2019s recent restrictions on exports to the United States <\/a>have disrupted global supply chains. Industries from electric vehicles to defence technologies have been affected.<\/p>\n

India, heavily reliant on Chinese imports, has also faced setbacks. New Delhi is rolling out a Rs 5,000 crore scheme to boost domestic production in a bid to reduce dependence on Beijing. Against this backdrop, Pakistan is attempting to pitch itself as an alternative supplier.<\/p>\n

US and China factor<\/strong><\/p>\n

Munir has already sought to position Pakistan within Washington\u2019s mineral security strategy. Earlier this year, he held discussions at the White House with US President Donald Trump, where Balochistan\u2019s resources were reportedly on the agenda.<\/p>\n

Washington, wary of overreliance on China, has shown interest in partnering with Islamabad. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in his Independence Day message to Pakistan, expressed a desire to \u201cexplore new areas of economic cooperation, including critical minerals and hydrocarbons.\u201d A new trade agreement has also been announced with Pakisatn, aimed at reducing tariffs and encouraging American firms to invest in Balochistan\u2019s mining projects.<\/p>\n

At the same time, the United States has designated the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) as a terrorist organisation, a move that not only aligns with Islamabad\u2019s counterinsurgency strategy but also alienates Balochistan separatist groups demanding independence from Pakistan.<\/p>\n

While cultivating US ties, Pakistan cannot ignore its close partnership with China. The China\u2013Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship project of Beijing\u2019s Belt and Road Initiative, runs through Balochistan, linking Chinese markets to the Arabian Sea via Gwadar Port. Beijing has already invested heavily in the region\u2019s infrastructure and security.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pakistan\u2019s Chief of Army Staff, General Asim Munir, has laid out a bold vision to transform Pakistan into…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":352286,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3090],"tags":[81206,124402,124407,98369,124409,124408,51,124411,124404,1700,124405,6218,9330,124406,6026,26635,28013,124403,16158,16,15,124410,124413,124412,124414,124415,263],"class_list":{"0":"post-352285","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-asim-munir","9":"tag-asim-munir-on-reko-diq","10":"tag-baloch","11":"tag-balochistan","12":"tag-balochistan-not-pakistan","13":"tag-baluchistan","14":"tag-business","15":"tag-china-critical-minerals","16":"tag-criticam-minerals","17":"tag-economy","18":"tag-general-asim-munir","19":"tag-geopolitics","20":"tag-global-trade","21":"tag-mir-yar-baloch","22":"tag-pakistan","23":"tag-pakistan-economy","24":"tag-pakistan-news","25":"tag-reko-diq","26":"tag-trump-tariff","27":"tag-uk","28":"tag-united-kingdom","29":"tag-us-on-critocal-minerals","30":"tag-us-pakistan-relation","31":"tag-us-pakistan-trade","32":"tag-us-supporting-pakistan","33":"tag-us-wants-balochistan-minerals","34":"tag-world-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=352285"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352285\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/352286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=352285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=352285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=352285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}