The news that a trillion-dollar worth of minerals lie buried under the dusty and dreary soil of Afghanistan has made waves across the world. Eager resource extractors are eyeing Afghanistan with renewed interest. Iron, copper, cobalt, gold and lithium are among the many minerals that are said to lie embedded in Afghan soil. Geologists have known this for a long time and China has already put in place plans to dig up and carry away billions of dollars worth of copper. Interestingly, so far it is the United States and western powers that have spent money providing security in Afghanistan, while it is the Chinese who have got their hands on Afghan copper. Perhaps that is the payoff to China for its implicit support to US occupation of Afghanistan. If so, it is a cool deal for Beijing, which may now eye Afghanistan’s other mineral resources. If no one has been able to tap more minerals so far, it is because of the long period of political instability that has prevented any worthwhile investment in Afghanistan, barring in poppy cultivation. One must not put the cart before the horse. Afghanistan’s untapped wealth can only be put to good use, in the interests of the Afghan people, when peace and security return to this unfortunate land.
India need not get carried away by the trillion-dollar story. Perhaps the United States government has to convince its voters that it is worth staying on in Afghanistan and spending taxpayers’ money for the nation’s defence. Perhaps the US also wants to show the Afghan people that there are better ways to enrich themselves other than poppy cultivation, drug trafficking and gun-running. Perhaps the US wants to tell its allies that there are rewards to be reaped by investing in the war effort in Afghanistan. One can think of many reasons why the trillion-dollar minerals story has its appeal to so many in so many capitals around the world. As far as New Delhi is concerned, the most important natural wealth of Afghanistan in which Delhi has been investing and must continue to do so is the Afghan people. A proud and productive people, the Afghans have been denied peace and security not only by enemies within, the Taliban, and enemies without, especially Pakistan, but other big powers as well. India’s task in Afghanistan is to invest in the well-being and educational and economic empowerment of its people so that they can tap into their own wealth. India’s investment in education, health, roads and railways in Afghanistan will help it tap its own human resources. Unless the Afghan people are so empowered, the discovery of natural resources can only be a curse, not a blessing.
