By: Kh Kashif Mir
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Islamabad: Despite a ban by the Punjab government, large-scale illegal gold mining continues unabated in the Indus River in Attock, with hundreds of individuals and groups extracting placer gold worth billions of rupees. The government is losing substantial tax revenue due to this illegal activity, which is allegedly being carried out under the patronage of the Mines and Minerals Department and district administration.
According to sources, senior officials, including Secretary Minerals Babar Aman Babar and Director General of Mines Rana Abdul Shakoor, have turned a blind eye to this widespread corruption. The corrupt mafia is allegedly paying huge sums of money as bribes to these officials in return for their support.
In 2018, during the PTI regime, a case was registered against the Secretary Minerals and the Director General for gold theft, but no action has been taken so far. A departmental scheme was also established during the PTI regime to explore gold reserves in Attock, but reports suggest corruption and mismanagement. Over 100 companies approached the Ministry of Mines and Minerals for formal permission to prospect for gold, but the Director General allegedly bypassed legal procedures and stole gold through private groups.
Recently, Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz formed a committee headed by Minister of Mines and Minerals Sher Ali Gorchani to stop illegal gold mining in Attock. The committee includes the Law Minister, Secretary Mines, Commissioner Rawalpindi, RPO Rawalpindi, Deputy Commissioner Attock, DPO Attock, and Director General Mines and Minerals Punjab. However, despite the committee’s formation, no concrete action has been taken to stop the illegal mining.
The Punjab government had directed the division of areas along the Indus River into blocks for leasing, but illegal mining continues unabated. The Minister of Mines and Minerals had announced measures to stop illegal mining and recover stolen gold, but these announcements remain unimplemented.
It is worth noting that the Punjab government announced the discovery of gold deposits in Attock earlier this year, valued at 600 billion rupees. The Geological Survey of Pakistan completed a report on the discovery, identifying nine blocks of placer gold for auction.
The Provincial Minister of Mines and Minerals claimed that these blocks would be auctioned soon, and that the Geological Survey of Pakistan had examined 127 samples, identifying gold, zinc, silver, nickel, manganese, copper, and other minerals. The continued inaction of the authorities has raised questions about their commitment to stopping corruption and illegal activities in the mining sector.