Afghanistan is one of the countries that have been gifted magnanimously with some of mineral resources. Afghanistan’s mineral resources, according to US estimates, are about a trillion dollar that include iron ore, gold, uranium and precious stones, including emeralds. Apart from these minerals, there are some reservoirs of oil in gas in some parts of the country that can be used to facilitated Afghan people to a certain extent. However, there have not been efforts to extract and utilize them as the country has been suffering from myriads of problems, among which the insecurity is the most dominant one.

At present Afghanistan is going through a relatively peaceful era of its history; at this crucial time efforts can be made to take practical measures to bring the hidden minerals in use. An effort has been made recently to extract oil and gas from the Afghan-Tajik basin in northeastern Afghanistan. An agreement has been signed with Turkish Petroleum International Company (TPIC), Drago Oil (UAE) and the Ghazanfar Group of Afghanistan, who would invest around $ 12 billion in 12 years to do the task. The estimations show that the fields where these companies will dig for the oil and gas have around 514 barrels of oil and 91 billion cubic meters of natural gas. Apart from using the minerals for domestic purposes, they will be exported. Moreover, the process is going to create around 12,000 job opportunities that Afghan people can use to earn themselves their livelihood.

The initiative is worth appreciation, but it would require, commitment and favorable conditions to turn it into a reality. Afghan authorities have been very much hopeful about the mining sector. Yes, it is correct that there are large reserves of untouched mineral resources in the country that can provide great support to the country, but converting those untouched reservoirs into usable cash requires a lot of hard work. The process involves not only digging out the minerals but converting them to usable forms and then transferring them to different locations through reliable and fast transportation system. Moreover, it would require strong communication system and latest equipments. But above all it would require a decade or two of relative peace in the country. According to the projections made by the World Bank, the whole mining sector may add only some percentage to the overall GDP. The whole situation can be best depicted in the statements given by a mining consultant in Kabul, “Even in the best conditions, you are looking at many years, often decades, to make significant money from an investment. Here you have to build everything from scratch – power plants, transport networks – in a very tough environment. It’s not clear how much is really viable.” A European diplomat has mentioned that he could not convince from his countries to invest in Afghanistan. “They just shrug and say we needed 15 years of security, stability and growth, can you guarantee us that?” he said.    

It is believed that economic system is just like the circulatory system for society. As a circulatory system circulates blood throughout the body and guarantees life, in similar way the economic system in a society guarantees life and development. Without a strong economic system the country suffers because of myriads of problems and may even become a failed state. Unfortunately, Afghanistan has been suffering in this regard and has to depend on international help in order to stand on its own. It would require the same for at least one more decade. Yes, it is correct that Afghanistan cannot keep on depending on the other countries for indefinite period of time and it has to be independent economically, but that cannot happen in a jiffy.

Though currently major economic powers in the world have signed strategic agreements with Afghanistan, they are yet to be converted to reality. The international community has to keep one thing in mind that the developments that have been made in Afghanistan for the last eleven years or so are very much valuable. They have been achieved by the dint of great sacrifices and a lot of resources. They should not be undone in any way and support to Afghanistan must not be ended before it is due. It will be in the betterment of Afghanistan, the region and the whole international world and would be of great assistance in putting an end to terrorism.