Afghan Riches Could Spell Trouble for Pakistan

Nine hundred and eight billion dollars. That is the price tag a report issued by the Pentagon and US Geological Survey put on Afghanistan’s untapped mineral wealth some days ago.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s spokesman described the valuation as “the best news we have had over many years”. But for Pakistan, the presence of vast reserves of iron, copper, cobalt, gold and lithium across the Durand Line may only spell more trouble.

Historically, the discovery of mineral wealth leads to greater political instability. Writing in Bloomberg’s Businessweek, Amity Shlaes points to Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Russia and Sierra Leone as examples of places where the unexpected discovery of oil or minerals led to rampant corruption, gang violence, military takeovers and worse. The only way for such resources to lead to posterity, argues Shlaes, is for nations to have clear, protected property rights. These, however, will be hard to come by in Afghanistan, where basic governance remains a pipe dream.