As the US-China rivalry escalates, Balochistan has emerged as a new battleground for the 21st-century ‘Great Game’. The natural resource-rich but politically volatile province has become an epicenter of global corporate competition; its vast reserves of copper, gold, lithium, and antimony igniting a frenzied scramble between the international powers. These minerals are critical for renewable energy, advanced technology, and military applications, making Balochistan a strategic prize in the game.
China, already engaged through its $65 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), has poured billions into infrastructure and resource extraction, securing a dominant geopolitical foothold in the region. The US and its allies, in the meantime, are manoeuvring to counter Beijing’s influence, eyeing untapped mineral wealth in Balochistan and other border regions of Pakistan as a strategic lifeline in the global tech and energy race.
As Islamabad lures foreign investors to sell the region’s riches, people of Balochistan endure militarisation, displacement, and environmental destruction to safeguard corporate interests. Schools, hospitals and infrastructure remain underfunded, while promises of development dissolve into securitisation and empty rhetoric. A province that has huge natural wealth is facing extreme poverty, marginalisation, and political suppression.
Yet, this geopolitical chess game comes at a devastating human cost. The future of Balochistan hangs in the balance — a stark symbol of how the pursuit of power and profit risks leaving humanity behind.
The exploitation of Balochistan’s resources follows an unfortunately familiar colonial pattern—extraction without equitable benefit. While federal entities like the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) and private corporations like Lucky Cement’s NRL secure lucrative exploration rights and reap billions in profits, local communities see almost nothing in return.
Who benefits from mineral wealth?
Beneath Balochistan’s rugged terrain lie huge deposits of copper, gold, antimony, and vast natural gas reserves—resources that have fueled Pakistan’s economy for decades. The Reko Diq mine, one of the world’s largest untapped copper-gold deposits, can produce 900,000 to 2.2 million tons of copper annually, worth an estimated $100 billion in value. Federal entities and private corporations secure lucrative exploration rights, reaping billions in profits.
In March 2025, Pakistan announced the discovery of strategic antimony reserves in Balochistan’s Killa Abdullah and Zhob areas. antimony is a critical metal used in batteries, semiconductors, and military equipment, further increasing global interest. This has prompted the OGDCL and the Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation (PMDC) to devise a plan for its exploration and commercial production. The OGDCL has increased gas production, with the Uch-36 well in Dera Bugti now yielding 7.3mmcfd — million cubic feet of gas daily. Dera Bugti has already been the house of four major gas companies, including Pakistan Petroleum Limited, for the last seven decades. Gwadar, a key deep-sea port, is crucial for regional trade and development. So far, NRL has completed 13 diamond drills. Initial samples revealed copper content with gold and silver.
Despite these riches, Balochistan remains Pakistan’s poorest province, with its people trapped in a cycle of political repression and economic exploitation. Less than 5% of mining revenue stays in Balochistan.
The question is, who truly benefits from these resources? The local people continue to suffer under a system designed to extract wealth without reinvesting in their future.
The Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), a military-backed initiative, has accelerated mineral exploitation under the guise of “economic development.” Yet, this risks further marginalising Baloch voices while ensuring profits flow to Islamabad and foreign corporate giants.
The political landscape is equally grim. Those who demand rights and a fair share of resources are branded traitors, jailed, or allegedly disappeared. Mainstream political parties like the Balochistan National Party (BNP) and leaders like Sardar Akhtar Mengal are systematically vilified and accused of being proxies for separatists simply for advocating provincial autonomy.
If Islamabad is serious about stability and development in Balochistan as well as strengthening the country’s economy, it must dismantle this exploitative model by ensuring the provincial control over resources, fair revenue-sharing, and including the provincial assembly in decision-making process. Make substantial investments in education and healthcare, and an end to repression.
These are not just moral imperatives. This is the only path to lasting peace. Until then, Balochistan will remain a stark symbol of exploitation, inequality, and its impoverished people.
Abdul Ghaffar Bugti is a journalist, essayist, and human rights activist dedicated to amplifying marginalised voices with particular focus on Balochistan. Currently serving as Assistant Editor at The High Asia Herald and Baam-e-Jahan, he also holds the position of Media Secretary for the Progressive Writers Association (Islamabad chapter). His incisive essays—published in The Friday Times, The Express Tribune, Humsub Urdu, Nayadaur Urdu, and Sri Lanka Guardian—tackle pressing socio-political issues, from gender inequality and educational disparities to the systemic exploitation of resources in Balochistan and other oppressed communities.
The High Asia Herald is a member of High Asia Media Group — a window to High Asia and Central Asia
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یہ کالم نہایت بصیرت اور جرات مندی سے لکھا گیا ہے، جو نہ صرف بلوچستان کی زمینی حقیقتوں کو بے نقاب کرتا ہے بلکہ عالمی طاقتوں کے مفادات اور ریاستی پالیسیوں پر بھی فکر انگیز سوالات اٹھاتا ہے۔ مصنف نے گہرے مطالعے، سچائی سے وابستگی اور عوامی درد کو الفاظ میں ڈھال کر ایک ایسا کالم پیش کیا ہے جو دل کو چھو لینے کے ساتھ ساتھ ضمیر کو بھی جھنجھوڑ دیتا ہے۔ یہ تحریر صحافت کی اس ذمہ داری کی بہترین مثال ہے جو مظلوموں کی آواز بنے، نہ کہ طاقتوروں کا آلہ۔ ایسے لکھاری قوم کا اثاثہ ہوتے ہیں، جو سچ بولنے کا حوصلہ رکھتے ہیں، چاہے حالات کتنے ہی مشکل کیوں نہ ہوں۔