Pakistan's Balochistan mineral-rich but neglected, underdeveloped: Assam CM

Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said Pakistan's Balochistan province is mineral-rich but most "neglected and underdeveloped", and has been witnessing decades of "systematic economic and political exploitation".

In a post on X, Sarma late on Monday said Balochistan is a land of wealth but represents a "legacy of neglect".

"Despite being the largest and most resource-rich province of Pakistan, Balochistan remains its most neglected and underdeveloped region — a contradiction that reflects decades of systematic economic and political exploitation," he added.

The Assam CM claimed that Balochistan holds over 80 per cent of Pakistan's total mineral wealth, including the colossal Reko Diq copper-gold deposit, one of the world's largest untapped reserves with an estimated 5.9 billion tonnes of ore, containing 41.5 million ounces of gold and 35 million tonnes of copper.

"Balochistan is also home to the historic Sui gas field, discovered in 1952, which at its peak supplied over 56 per cent of Pakistan's natural gas — yet as of 2020, Balochistan consumes less than 6 per cent of the gas it produces, and a majority of households still rely on firewood for cooking," he added.

Sarma also said that while the Gwadar port and 770-kilometre Makran coastline offer immense geostrategic and economic potential under CPEC, local communities remain largely excluded, lacking access to clean drinking water, electricity and basic infrastructure.

The province contributes "less than four per cent to Pakistan's industrial output", and its share in federal public sector employment remains "disproportionately low", he claimed.

"With poverty rates exceeding 40 per cent - the people of Balochistan live amid abundance turned into neglect and deprivation. This is not a story of natural scarcity, but of state neglect, extractive politics, and decades of broken promises," the BJP leader said.

Following the Pahalgam terror attack, Sarma has been regularly making comments on Pakistan's various areas, including the armed conflict in Balochistan.