Pakistan is an amazing country. It is the land of many great mountain peaks, beautiful green valleys and bustling cities. The country is situated in a region that has been host to many great cultures and empires throughout history. From the Indus Valley civilisation to the farthest provinces of the Persian Empire, Pakistan’s strategic and natural position allowed the ambitions of these great civilisations to come to fruition, and therefore, the territory always figured prominently throughout history. The region was so rich in agriculture and trade that even Alexander the Great ventured there and plundered its wealth. But even for all its gifts and natural wonders Pakistan is still quite unknown for one of its greatest natural gifts: gemstones. Jewellery markets of Pakistan are full of precious and semi-precious gemstones of varying quality. These gems are mostly sourced from within the country. From the humble agate, clear quartz and lapis lazuli to precious tourmaline, topaz and emerald, Pakistan has an abundant resource of many gemstones. Pakistan has also been blessed with amazing reserves of marble, nephrite jade and onyx, a fact that has delighted many Chinese merchants to no end in recent years. Even though Pakistan has rich mineral and gem deposits it rarely figures at an international level when discussing the gem trade. The fact that Pakistan is relegated to the archives of obscurity in this regard is distressful. The ancient world was acutely aware of the region’s natural resources, especially its many gemstone deposits. Research has proven that the ancient Romans had a penchant for Swati emeralds. In the ancient Rome, emerald was a symbol of great power, wealth and social status. Romans liked big, clear and glass-like emeralds, something that Swat’s Mingora Mines were famous for even 2,500 years ago. This begs the question: why has this region been forgotten? This article aims to find out why. This author sat down with some industry insiders and asked them why Pakistan has failed to be a major player in the international gem industry and how come very few people know about its rich mineral and gem deposits. First, I sat down with a veteran of emerald trade in Pakistan. Haq Nawaz Khan and his partner Aziz Ahmadare both veterans in the trade and have decades of experience in sourcing, cutting and selling beautiful gems to foreign clients. They trade under the title of the Abdali Gems, and have a prominent online presence. Khansays that Pakistan is rich in high quality emeralds, and that he has secured a claim in Chitral recently where Panjsher like crystal clear emeralds are being sourced. When asked about Pakistan’s relative obscurity in the gem markets of the world, Khan enlightened me about the severe problems facing the industry at home. According to Khan, safety concerns, terrorism and bureaucratic red tape have effectively suppressed the industry for the past two decades. During the bloody onslaught of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan in the mid-to-late 2000s, Swat’s emerald mining industry, which was already flagging due to lack of mining know how and promotion by government, completely collapsed. He also complains along a line consistent with most gem trade professionals from Pakistan-cutting and faceting. Khan says that in local markets, faceting is being done manually on old machines, and the cutting process fails to bring out the inherent luster of specimens. Due to lack of symmetry, damage and human error, the finished product fails to please high-end clientele. Therefore, people prefer to fly to Thailand or send stones to India via Dubai to get quality faceted gems. These finished stones are rebranded as Indian emeralds, even Panjsher emeralds, even though most stones are sourced from territories within Pakistan. Lack of introduction of automation and facilitation by Pakistan Gems and Jewellery Development Company (PGJDC) is something that is stifling the trade and limiting it to grey area trading in rough stones only. Khan cheekily says, “Well, I have to thank the PGJDC for at least setting up a Pakistan pavilion at major gem trade shows throughout the world, even if they have failed to bring in new equipment and training courses for operating this equipment.” Even though Pakistan has rich mineral and gem deposits it rarely figures at an international level when discussing the gem trade Hilal Khan, a young and energetic man, sees great hope in Pakistan’s gemological future. His family has been in the trade for three decades under the name of Minerals Corner, and he is the latest entrant. His family trades in tourmaline and aquamarine specimens ofPakistan and some coming in from Afghanistan. Hilal has grave concerns regarding the destruction of specimens during mining. He says that due to the war in Afghanistan and its effects in Pakistan, there is unavailability of purpose-built and properly licensed explosives. “There are no professional technicians who can use industrial grade explosives to get clean and whole gemstones from mines. The miners end up using illegal military grade explosives in Afghanistan, and sometimes here as well; thatnot only destroys precious stones but also causes grievous injury and death to the miners themselves.” Hilal goes on to reiterate Khan’s concerns regarding quality faceting. “We don’t have professional faceting technicians, the ones that are present are not using machine-aided cutting, but rather rely on old machines where you have to hold the dop yourself.” Both Khan and Hilal stated that corrupt practices of the customs department are encouraging grey and black marketeering in the Pakistani gem trade. “Even if you have complete paperwork and the relevant permits for moving gemstones, customs officials still harass you, and even confiscate the precious stones. Foreign clients pay top dollar for your product; they don’t want to hear that their gems, even after paying taxes, fees and obtaining relevant permits, have been confiscated. These corrupt practices by the customs department must be checked by the government, and especially the PGJDC.” Hilal went on to add that due to this negative attitude of the customs department, DHL, FEDEX and UPS have refused to ship out and even bring in gemstones to Pakistan. Another aspect that both merchants pointed to is the lack of laboratories and verification services present within Pakistan. “GIA is top notch but if PGJDC reactivated its verification and laboratory services we will have a powerful asset on our side. The inability of Pakistani gem merchants to get their wares verified and tested in quality labs is also a big hindrance to the trade,” said Khan. “But even after so many years, PGJDC still hasn’t been able to offer consistent laboratory and verification services to the local gem trade; the labs that are present are not reliable and their results are the subject of ridicule by foreign clients. We have to resort to sending out our specimens for testing to labs a long way away from Pakistan; this limits the number of verified gemstones considerably and negatively effects our feasibility and our impact on the global gems market,” says Khan. Both merchants were, however, confident that if the government and the PGJDC played their role, this trend would change for the better and allow Pakistan’s merchants to trade directly from Pakistan with foreign wholesale buyers and clients. They say that right now, due to these constraints, grey area shipping and trading is taking place in Thailand and Dubai with Pakistani gemstones as the precious contraband, and this trend is cutting deep into the incomes of gem merchants. They also state that the government is losing precious tax dollars as a result. Facilitators of grey area trade are rebranding these gems, as the local merchants simply don’t have the ability to ship them out themselves. Whether the problems plaguing Pakistan’s gem industry will be resolved or not, one thing is crystal clear. That Pakistan possesses a bountiful supply of amazing gemstones. I hope that the government will realise that, and utilise this bounty in a responsible manner, improving the lives of countless citizens, all the while sharing with the world the riches it has been blessed with. Hilal Khan from Minerals Corner holds his favourite aquamarine specimen. Below Haq Nawaz Khan holds up one of his latest emerald roughs. The writer is a Multan-based lawyer and an amateur gemstone enthusiast. He can be reached at syedalitahiradvocate@gmail.com