WASHINGTON, DC (Kashmir English): A US-based think tank, the Jamestown Foundation, has highlighted concerns over the Taliban’s management of Afghanistan’s vast mineral resources, alleging that the group is using the country’s natural wealth to consolidate political control rather than ensuring that it benefits the national economy.
According to the analysis, Afghanistan possesses extensive deposits of minerals and natural resources, with their estimated value reaching around $1 trillion. The country is believed to have significant reserves of lithium, copper, cobalt, gold and other strategic minerals.
The Jamestown Foundation’s latest analysis argues that since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban have centralized control over the country’s mineral wealth. The report raises questions over whether resource extraction is being developed transparently and whether revenues are reaching the Afghan national treasury and ordinary citizens.
The concerns come as Afghanistan seeks foreign investment in its mining sector. The country’s mineral resources have attracted particular interest from China, including potential investment in lithium and other strategic minerals.
The analysis suggests that control over lucrative natural resources could provide the Taliban with an additional source of economic and political leverage, while limited transparency and centralized decision-making could prevent Afghanistan’s mineral wealth from translating into broad-based economic development.
Afghanistan’s vast untapped resources have long been viewed as a potential source of economic transformation. However, insecurity, weak infrastructure, limited investment capacity and political uncertainty have historically hindered large-scale exploitation.
