Pakistan's gemstone industry struggles with unrest

TO GO WITH PAKISTAN-UNREST-MINERALS-GEMSTONES, FEATURE BY NASIR JAFFRY
In this photograph taken on June 24, 2014, a Pakistani craftsman checks a gemstone at a workshop in Peshawar. For 400 years the craftsmen and traders of Peshawar's jewellery bazaar have cut, polished, set and haggled over precious gems dug from the rugged mountains of northwest Pakistan. Pakistan's gem and jewellery exports have boomed in recent years but Taliban violence, a crippling power crisis and outdated production methods are taking their — TO GO WITH PAKISTAN-UNREST-MINERALS-GEMSTONES, FEATURE BY NASIR JAFFRY In this photograph taken on June 24, 2014, a Pakistani craftsman checks a gemstone at a workshop in Peshawar. For 400 years the craftsmen and traders of Peshawar's jewellery bazaar have cut, polished, set and haggled over precious gems dug from the rugged mountains of northwest Pakistan. Pakistan's gem and jewellery exports have boomed in recent years but Taliban violence, a crippling power crisis and outdated production methods are taking their

TO GO WITH PAKISTAN-UNREST-MINERALS-GEMSTONES, FEATURE BY NASIR JAFFRY
In this photograph taken on June 27, 2014, a Pakistani employee cuts and shapes gemstone at a workshop in Peshawar. For 400 years the craftsmen and traders of Peshawar's jewellery bazaar have cut, polished, set and haggled over precious gems dug from the rugged mountains of northwest Pakistan. Pakistan's gem and jewellery exports have boomed in recent years but Taliban violence, a crippling power crisis and outdated production methods are taking — TO GO WITH PAKISTAN-UNREST-MINERALS-GEMSTONES, FEATURE BY NASIR JAFFRY In this photograph taken on June 27, 2014, a Pakistani employee cuts and shapes gemstone at a workshop in Peshawar. For 400 years the craftsmen and traders of Peshawar's jewellery bazaar have cut, polished, set and haggled over precious gems dug from the rugged mountains of northwest Pakistan. Pakistan's gem and jewellery exports have boomed in recent years but Taliban violence, a crippling power crisis and outdated production methods are taking

TO GO WITH PAKISTAN-UNREST-MINERALS-GEMSTONES, FEATURE BY NASIR JAFFRY
In this photograph taken on June 27, 2014, a Pakistani employee prepares a gemstone at a workshop in Peshawar. For 400 years the craftsmen and traders of Peshawar's jewellery bazaar have cut, polished, set and haggled over precious gems dug from the rugged mountains of northwest Pakistan. Pakistan's gem and jewellery exports have boomed in recent years but Taliban violence, a crippling power crisis and outdated production methods are taking thei — TO GO WITH PAKISTAN-UNREST-MINERALS-GEMSTONES, FEATURE BY NASIR JAFFRY In this photograph taken on June 27, 2014, a Pakistani employee prepares a gemstone at a workshop in Peshawar. For 400 years the craftsmen and traders of Peshawar's jewellery bazaar have cut, polished, set and haggled over precious gems dug from the rugged mountains of northwest Pakistan. Pakistan's gem and jewellery exports have boomed in recent years but Taliban violence, a crippling power crisis and outdated production methods are taking thei

TO GO WITH PAKISTAN-UNREST-MINERALS-GEMSTONES, FEATURE BY NASIR JAFFRY
In this photograph taken on June 24, 2014, a Pakistani trader examines raw gemstones at a workshop in Peshawar. For 400 years the craftsmen and traders of Peshawar's jewellery bazaar have cut, polished, set and haggled over precious gems dug from the rugged mountains of northwest Pakistan. Pakistan's gem and jewellery exports have boomed in recent years but Taliban violence, a crippling power crisis and outdated production methods are taking the — TO GO WITH PAKISTAN-UNREST-MINERALS-GEMSTONES, FEATURE BY NASIR JAFFRY In this photograph taken on June 24, 2014, a Pakistani trader examines raw gemstones at a workshop in Peshawar. For 400 years the craftsmen and traders of Peshawar's jewellery bazaar have cut, polished, set and haggled over precious gems dug from the rugged mountains of northwest Pakistan. Pakistan's gem and jewellery exports have boomed in recent years but Taliban violence, a crippling power crisis and outdated production methods are taking the

TO GO WITH PAKISTAN-UNREST-MINERALS-GEMSTONES, FEATURE BY NASIR JAFFRY
In this photograph taken on June 24, 2014, Pakistani employees cut and shape gemstones at a workshop in Peshawar. For 400 years the craftsmen and traders of Peshawar's jewellery bazaar have cut, polished, set and haggled over precious gems dug from the rugged mountains of northwest Pakistan. Pakistan's gem and jewellery exports have boomed in recent years but Taliban violence, a crippling power crisis and outdated production methods are taking t — TO GO WITH PAKISTAN-UNREST-MINERALS-GEMSTONES, FEATURE BY NASIR JAFFRY In this photograph taken on June 24, 2014, Pakistani employees cut and shape gemstones at a workshop in Peshawar. For 400 years the craftsmen and traders of Peshawar's jewellery bazaar have cut, polished, set and haggled over precious gems dug from the rugged mountains of northwest Pakistan. Pakistan's gem and jewellery exports have boomed in recent years but Taliban violence, a crippling power crisis and outdated production methods are taking t

TO GO WITH PAKISTAN-UNREST-MINERALS-GEMSTONES, FEATURE BY NASIR JAFFRY
In this photograph taken on June 24, 2014, Pakistani employees carry raw gemstones at a workshop in Peshawar. For 400 years the craftsmen and traders of Peshawar's jewellery bazaar have cut, polished, set and haggled over precious gems dug from the rugged mountains of northwest Pakistan. Pakistan's gem and jewellery exports have boomed in recent years but Taliban violence, a crippling power crisis and outdated production methods are taking their — TO GO WITH PAKISTAN-UNREST-MINERALS-GEMSTONES, FEATURE BY NASIR JAFFRY In this photograph taken on June 24, 2014, Pakistani employees carry raw gemstones at a workshop in Peshawar. For 400 years the craftsmen and traders of Peshawar's jewellery bazaar have cut, polished, set and haggled over precious gems dug from the rugged mountains of northwest Pakistan. Pakistan's gem and jewellery exports have boomed in recent years but Taliban violence, a crippling power crisis and outdated production methods are taking their

TO GO WITH PAKISTAN-UNREST-MINERALS-GEMSTONES, FEATURE BY NASIR JAFFRY
In this photograph taken on June 27, 2014, Pakistani employees prepare gemstones at a workshop in Peshawar. For 400 years the craftsmen and traders of Peshawar's jewellery bazaar have cut, polished, set and haggled over precious gems dug from the rugged mountains of northwest Pakistan. Pakistan's gem and jewellery exports have boomed in recent years but Taliban violence, a crippling power crisis and outdated production methods are taking their t — TO GO WITH PAKISTAN-UNREST-MINERALS-GEMSTONES, FEATURE BY NASIR JAFFRY In this photograph taken on June 27, 2014, Pakistani employees prepare gemstones at a workshop in Peshawar. For 400 years the craftsmen and traders of Peshawar's jewellery bazaar have cut, polished, set and haggled over precious gems dug from the rugged mountains of northwest Pakistan. Pakistan's gem and jewellery exports have boomed in recent years but Taliban violence, a crippling power crisis and outdated production methods are taking their t

Pakistan's gemstone industry struggles with unrest

Pakistan's gem and jewellery exports have boomed in recent years but traders now say that violence has slumped business.

AFP Published July 16, 2014

In this photograph taken on June 24, 2014, a Pakistani craftsman checks a gemstone at a workshop in Peshawar. — Photo by AFP

PESHAWAR: For 400 years the craftsmen and traders of Peshawar's jewellery bazaar have cut, polished, set and haggled over precious gems dug from the rugged mountains of northwest Pakistan.

Pakistan's gem and jewellery exports have boomed in recent years but Taliban violence, a crippling power crisis and outdated production methods are taking their toll in Peshawar, where traders say business has slumped alarmingly in the past 12 months.

In this photograph taken on June 24, 2014, employees carry raw gemstones at a workshop in Peshawar. — Photo by AFP

As dusk settles over Peshawar, the gateway to Pakistan's wild and restive northwest, the stalls and narrow lanes of Namakmandi bazaar in the heart of the city bustle with activity.

In this photograph taken on June 24, 2014, a Pakistani trader examines raw gemstones at a workshop in Peshawar. — Photo by AFP

Traders peer beadily to check the quality of emeralds, rubies and lapis lazuli, plying customers with green tea while food sellers roam about, the aroma of spices scenting the air.

But traders like Shehzad Sabz Ali say business is collapsing, and foreign buyers in particular have been scared off, a major problem in a sector where exports account for 95 percent of the market.

“I have been in this business for the last 25 years but the slump that we are witnessing these days because of unrest and Talibanisation is unprecedented,” he told AFP.

The buyers from the United States, Thailand, France, Germany and Dubai who once thronged the packed market are largely a thing of the past.

“The bomb blasts and suicide attacks have turned our businesses upside down, leaving us no option but to interact with our buyers through the Internet,” Ali said as employees in his small shop cut and polished delicate rose-pink kunzite stones.

In this photograph taken on June 27, 2014, a Pakistani employee prepares a gemstone at a workshop in Peshawar. — Photo by AFP

Online dealing may be the thing of the moment, but traders like Ali, whose businesses have been built on generations of salesmanship and personal relationships, feel it is ineffective.

For fellow trader Sheharyar Ahmad, the solution is to hold more trade shows in Pakistan's other cities. “I have attended a few exhibitions in Islamabad and Lahore where foreign buyers showed great deal of interest in the stones such as emerald, ruby and sapphire,” he told AFP.

In this photograph taken on June 27, 2014, a Pakistani employee cuts and shapes gemstone at a workshop in Peshawar. — Photo by AFP

Primitive methods

Most of Pakistan's gemstones are found in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, northern Gilgit-Baltistan, Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Pakistan-administered Kashmir region and Balochistan.

The reserves of precious and semi-precious stones in Pakistan are worth trillions of dollars, according to Peshawar-based gemologist Ilyas Ali Shah.

But much of this potential remains untapped as the stones lie buried in the seven restive tribal areas along the Afghan border, where militancy and poor infrastructure have restricted access.

“Pakistan could triple its current gemstone exports if these reserves are fully tapped,” he said.

In this photograph taken on June 27, 2014, a Pakistani employee prepares a gemstone at a workshop in Peshawar. — Photo by AFP

While the quality of stones from Pakistan is good and they sell well at international trade shows, Peshawar trader Sheharyar Ahmad said, the primitive cutting and polishing techniques are not up to international standards.

In this photograph taken on June 27, 2014, Pakistani employees prepare gemstones at a workshop in Peshawar. — Photo by AFP

“That is why when our stones go to Thailand, they are re-faceted and polished again,” he told AFP.

Shah, who heads the Gem and Jewellery Training and Manufacturing Centre in Peshawar, said the manual equipment Pakistani traders are still using did not allow the same precision and delicacy of workmanship as modern machinery.

His training centre aims to bring Pakistani jewellery techniques up to date.

In this photograph taken on June 27, 2014, a Pakistani employee cuts and shapes a gemstone at a workshop in Peshawar.— Photo by AFP

“Our institute has been set up to train traders in cutting and polishing of gemstones through scientific means and we have so far trained over 1,000 students in Peshawar,” he said.

In this photograph taken on June 24, 2014, Pakistani employees cut and shape gemstones at a workshop in Peshawar. — Photo by AFP

The government-run Pakistan Gems and Jewellery Development Company (PGJDC) is also trying to raise skill levels to allow the country to compete better with the likes of Thailand and India.

Gem and jewellery exports have risen enormously in recent years to stand at $1.3 billion in 2013, and PGJDC general manager Khalid Aziz said they were aiming for a target of $1.7 billion by 2017.

Comments (4) Closed

Horrible

Jul 16, 2014 01:49pm

Sincer efforts by the state and local government are needed to boost up the trade in addition to security to the field workers at site. Swat once a symbel of qualitative emerald has vanished because law and order unrest in the valley due to Takfiri Terrorists of Pakistan(TTP).

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Just Someone

Jul 16, 2014 05:24pm

"The reserves of precious and semi-precious stones in Pakistan are worth trillions of dollars, according to Peshawar-based gemologist Ilyas Ali Shah." I think that is too high an estimate.

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BRR

Jul 16, 2014 10:23pm

Can you imagine a Trillion? Lets get realistic. It will be more like a couple of billions, to a 20 billion size over 20 years, maybe.

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Muhammad Saleem

Jul 16, 2014 11:35pm

The government should make significant investment toprovide advanced equipment to enhance quality of gem products, will create more jobs , increase pakistan,s foreign exchange earings.

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