Illegal trade in precious stones

Traders complain the government has not created processing facilities in the two provinces.
Hajji Gul Agha, an investor in Kandahar, said traders have told the Chamber of Commerce and Industry they were willing to invest in processing facilities.

Traders complain the government has not created processing facilities in the two provinces.
Hajji Gul Agha, an investor in Kandahar, said traders have told the Chamber of Commerce and Industry they were willing to invest in processing facilities. But approval has not been received from the provincial mines department.
Facilities for the cutting and polishing of marble would provide jobs to people, and bring in additional revenue to the government, he pointed out.
Currently marble from the Ghorak mountains in Khakrez district, Kandahar, and from Desho district in Helmand province are extracted illegally, and smuggled to Pakistan. The polished stones are brought back to the country, and sold at exorbitant prices. “The worst of all is the stones of Kandahar and Helmand are processed in Karachi, Pakistan, and exported to Arabic countries under the name of Pak Green Marble – all the profit goes into the hands of investors in Pakistan,” rued Gul Agha.
An officer of the mines department of Kandahar who did not want to be identified told Khedmatgar daily that no private investor has come forward to invest in the sector according to the rules of the department.
He added there are vast deposits of chromite and iron in Erghestan and Maroof district, lime in Daman district, coal and copper in Spin Boldak mountains, marble in Maiwand and Khakrez district and copper in Miansheen district. The official added, “If the private sector were to invest in the extraction, the administration of Kandahar would definitely help them because they are opposed to the smuggling of precious stones.”
Jawed Faisal, the spokesman of the Kandahar governor, said Afghan investors would need deep pockets to be able to hire foreign mining professionals in the absence of trained locals.
Dawood Ahmad Zai, the spokesman of the Helmand governor, told Khedmatgar daily of a stone-cutting factory in the province which was owned partly by the government (49 percent) and the private sector.
According to him, the provincial government has allowed the export of precious stones through the Spin Boldak border to Pakistan, but smugglers pay poor locals – who are desperate for money – to clandestinely extract the stones and smuggle them in to the neighbouring country.