PM Shehbaz seeks swift setting up of centres of excellence for gems sector

October 15, 2026 (MLN): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wants a full value-addition chain built around the mining, cutting and polishing of precious stones, and has asked for a time-bound plan to be drawn up urgently, warning that delays in the sector will not be tolerated.

The directive came at a meeting held in Islamabad today under his chairmanship to review ways of developing the gems and precious stones industry and growing its exports.

The Prime Minister was unhappy that the pilot project was still not ready and that the sector’s initiatives had made little headway, and he told the officials concerned to bring a plan to him as a matter of priority, said a press release issued.

Describing the sector as a national priority, he said slackness would not be accepted. Pakistan holds rich natural resources, he noted, yet poor mining methods and the smuggling of precious stones cost the country billions of dollars each year.

He asked that a Brand Pakistan campaign for gems be modelled on the approach of regional competitors and that the country’s large deposits of stones and minerals be put to work to lift exports.

A roadmap should also be prepared for the quick creation of centres of excellence for value addition, he said, and every hurdle in the way of the pilot projects and model mines should be cleared so they are finished early.

Briefing the meeting on the pilot project, which covers the exploration, cutting and polishing of stones and their preparation for export, officials said 4.8 kanals of land have been handed over for the centre of excellence at Hussainabad in Skardu.

Funds are in place and construction is expected to start shortly, they added.

The forum heard that sites have been identified in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Islamabad as well.

Until the Islamabad centre is built, it will start functioning fully from a temporary location.

Officials further said geological mapping of the gem-bearing areas has been completed and eight new blocks have been marked out in Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for further exploration.

Rs1bn has been set aside for the sector in this year’s Public Sector Development Programme, while 80 branches of 10 banks in seven cities now have desks to assist exporters.

The Prime Minister told the authorities to return next week with a detailed plan for setting up the centres of excellence and taking forward the sector’s development.

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