Senior mining official killed in southwestern Pakistan amid push for international mineral investment

A Pakistani soldier is inspecting a vehicle following an IED blast that resulted in the death of a Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation official near Quetta, Pakistan, on October 8, 2023. (Photo courtesy: District Administration Quetta)

• Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation’s project manager was targeted in an IED attack on the outskirts of Quetta
• Pakistan is keen to attract foreign investment in the mining sector which it estimates to have $6 trillion dollars of deposits

QUETTA: A senior official of the Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation (PMDC) was killed in a targeted bomb attack on the outskirts of the provincial capital of Balochistan on Sunday, a high-ranking police official confirmed to Arab News.
Earlier this year in August, Pakistan held an international conference in Islamabad aimed at tapping into its estimated $6 trillion worth of mineral deposits.
The event brought together foreign investors, diplomats, and international dignitaries who were briefed about the country’s precious natural deposits, with the government aiming to use these resources to address Pakistan’s persistent economic woes.
A large number of these mineral resources are located in the southwestern Balochistan province, where the PMDC official was targeted earlier today.
“The PMDC project manager for the Sor Range mining facility, Mirza Shabbar Ali, was targeted by an improvised explosive device while he was traveling to the mining site from his bungalow,” said Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Jawad Tariq.
“Ali was killed on the spot, but his driver received serious injuries and was shifted to Quetta for medical treatment,” he continued. “The provincial counterterrorism department has begun investigating the latest attack and gathered evidence from the crime scene.”
So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, though Baloch separatist groups have frequently targeted security forces and mine workers in the area that is known for its rich coal deposits.
The PMDC is a semi-autonomous body linked with Pakistan’s Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources. Its workers have mostly focused on extracting coal, salt and silica sand from mining fields.
“It was a terrorist attack on a mining inspector who worked at a PMDC project site,” Balochistan’s Chief Mining Inspector Abdul Ghani told Arab News.
The province has been the scene of a low-level insurgency by nationalist groups operating in the southwestern region, who claim to be fighting against what they view as the unfair exploitation of the Balochistan’s wealth by the federation.
The Pakistani state has consistently denied the claims of Baloch armed separatist groups.
The recent IED attack has once again highlighted the volatility of the province, emphasizing the challenges of carrying out economic development projects in the area.