BNM opposes Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum 2026, warns foreign investors

In a statement shared on X, the BNM spokesperson described the proposed investment initiative as an attempt to turn the exploitation of Balochistan’s mineral wealth into an international economic enterprise, while perpetuating what the organisation termed the region’s poverty, deprivation and economic subjugation.

The Baloch National Movement (BNM) has opposed the Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum 2026 (PMIF26), scheduled to be held in Islamabad on November 12–13, alleging that Pakistan is seeking to bring foreign investors and multinational corporations into the exploitation of Balochistan’s natural resources without the consent of the Baloch people. In a statement shared on X, the BNM spokesperson described the proposed investment initiative as an attempt to turn the exploitation of Balochistan’s mineral wealth into an international economic enterprise, while perpetuating what the organisation termed the region’s poverty, deprivation and economic subjugation.

The spokesperson said that the forum was being presented under the banners of investment and development but argued that its underlying objective was to deprive the Baloch nation of control over its natural resources. The BNM termed this alleged arrangement “mineral colonialism”, describing it as a system in which external powers benefit from a region’s natural wealth while its indigenous population faces exploitation and marginalisation. The spokesperson maintained that no foreign investment, mining project or natural resource extraction activity in Balochistan could be considered acceptable without the free, genuine and collective consent of the Baloch nation.

According to the BNM post, the spokesperson warned that any agreements concluded without taking into account the will and political status of the Baloch nation would remain illegitimate and unacceptable. Such agreements, the spokesperson said, could further deepen the ongoing conflict and potentially escalate violence in the region. The BNM also urged international mining companies, investors and financial institutions to refrain from investing in Balochistan. Describing the region as an occupied territory experiencing an ongoing conflict, the spokesperson said the international community had a moral and political responsibility to support the Baloch people's right to self-determination rather than become involved in what the organisation described as the economic interests of an occupying state.

The statement further linked the proposed resource extraction projects to the broader human rights situation in Balochistan. The spokesperson alleged that enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, unlawful arrests of political activists and leaders, fabricated criminal cases and systematic attempts to silence political voices were part of a wider system aimed at suppressing the political and economic rights of the Baloch nation and maintaining control over its natural resources. The BNM spokesperson said that the Baloch people had struggled for decades to protect their national identity, homeland and right to exercise control over their resources. The continued sacrifices of Baloch men, women and youth, the spokesperson added, reflected the human cost of this struggle.

The statement argued that claims of development and prosperity in Balochistan could not be separated from these concerns, describing such promises as an illusion if they disregarded the political and economic rights of the local population. The BNM also cautioned international companies that extracting Balochistan’s resources without the consent of the Baloch nation could make them complicit in what it described as a contested and exploitative enterprise.

Calling for international intervention, the spokesperson urged the United Nations, international financial institutions and the wider international community to make the free consent of the Baloch nation a fundamental condition for any project involving the region’s natural resources. The organisation also called for international attention to alleged human rights violations and respect for the political and national rights of the Baloch people. Emphasising its position on resource ownership, the BNM spokesperson said, “Balochistan is not a mineral colony; it is the homeland of the Baloch nation.”

The spokesperson maintained that the authority to decide the fate of Balochistan’s natural resources belonged to the Baloch people and not to an occupying state or its international partners. The statement concluded that projects imposed against the will of the Baloch nation would perpetuate exploitation, resistance and instability. According to the BNM, genuine peace, development and prosperity in the region could only be achieved through the freedom and self-determination of the Baloch nation, along with sovereign control over its natural resources. (ANI)