Pakistan’s national gemstones policy in the offing: SAPM Haroon

ISLAMABAD, Oct 31 (APP): Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Industries and Production Haroon Akhtar Khan on Friday met with Barneby Plowright, a leading gemstones exporter, and discussed with him the formulation of the upcoming National Gemstones Policy.
During the meeting, both sides discussed ways to strengthen Pakistan’s gemstone sector through policy reforms, formalization, and international collaboration, a news release said.
The SAPM also visited Barneby’s gemstone setup in Islamabad, where he was briefed on the entire process of diamond polishing, grading, and packaging.
Haroon Akhtar Khan stated that, on the special directives of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the National Gemstones Policy was being formulated to facilitate exporters and manufacturers of gemstones.
He emphasized that under the new policy, gemstones exporters would be given the status of an industry, which would help in documenting and regulating this largely informal sector – currently estimated to have around $ 2 billion in undocumented trade.
He added that the new policy was aimed bringing the gemstone industry into the formal economy, enabling Pakistan to earn billions of dollars in revenue. “The policy will be developed within one month, taking into account international best practices and successful global models,” he added.
Highlighting Pakistan’s rich mineral wealth, Haroon Akhtar Khan noted that the country was blessed with some of the world’s finest quality gemstones.
He appreciated Barnaby Plowright and his team for their technical expertise, innovation, and contribution to gemstone processing in Pakistan.