Natural Resources in Pakistan

Efficient Use of Natural Resources can make Pakistan Prosperous nation. Discuss in the light of present situation of Pakistan.

Introduction
In the contemporary state of affairs, the nation of Pakistan is marred with economic stagnation. The said problem serves as the root of many ills of Pakistan. The country has been continuously relying on debts and foreign aids without practically realizing the fact that efficient use of its own natural resources like coal, minerals, crops and hot waters can make it prosperous.

Natural Resources in Pakistan
The term natural resources usually refer to all the material treasures naturally present within the territory of a state. These may include minerals, gold, coal, crops, hot waters, landscapes and any other natural stuff that can be used in the benefit of the state.

Pakistan has enormous natural resources. It possesses one of the world’s largest salt mine. Further, it is the land of world’s top coal reservoirs. Pakistan’s Baluchistan region has unearthed a number of minerals along with natural gas reservoirs. Crude oil has also been extracted from several points in the geography of this country.

Exploitation of Natural Resources
Natural resources are one of the determinants of state power but not unless they are exploited in an efficient way. Exploitation of the natural resources provides a state leverage to enhance trade with other nations along with providing its own people with the natural facilities. For instance, Saudi Arabia is a nation that has well exploited the natural resource of its crude oil. The country has earned petro-dollars to make itself one of the strongest economies of the region.

Exploitation of Natural Resources can make Pakistan Prosperous
Pakistan is rich in natural resources but these have never made it prosperous nation like Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The reason lies in following facts:

Pakistan’s government pays little attention towards such ventures. They mostly remain engaged in domestic political tussles and fighting wars for others at international level.
Exploitation of natural resources requires spending money on talent, skilled workers and drilling agencies. Governments in Pakistan hesitate to spend in this regard. This discourages talented experts of the field to work in Pakistan for the efficient exploitation of natural resources.
Pakistan’s youth is mostly engaged in traditional studies of arts like politics, sociology and public administration. The country has little incentive and direction for the young ones to join technical fields like geology, engineering and other such areas. This produces less technical experts in the educational institutions of the country. Owing to this fact, we lack skilled experts and ultimately depend on foreign help for exploitation of resources. That makes the exploitation inefficient and not in the interest of nation’s prosperity.
Corruption is another major reason behind inefficient exploitation of natural resources. The bureaucratic red-tape involved in projects of exploitation of natural resources often discourage foreign companies to take less interest in Pakistan’s assets. This in return turns our resources nothing but pile of waste hidden underneath.

For better exploitation of resources the state needs to take following steps:

Introduce more technical degrees in educational institutions
Provide incentives to students to join technical programs of study
Train a generation of technical experts which can guide the nations for efficient use of natural resources
Allow foreign companies to work on natural resources of Pakistan without pressure and fear of being deprived them from their due share

Conclusion
Natural resources are an asset of the modern political and state system. A country rich in natural resources is center of attention. We can understand it from the OPEC nations. Efficient exploitation of these resources strengthens nation’s economy and upholds its integrity. In any case otherwise, the state falls behind and depends on others.