On 25th September, images from Washington showed President of the United States, Donald Trump, meeting Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistani military chief Asim Munir. In the meeting, Munir presented a polished tray of so-called “rare earth minerals” to Trump as they hoped to impress the White House and secure American investment.

The photo opportunity was meant to showcase Pakistan as a potential supplier of critical minerals at a time when the world is competing fiercely for control over rare earths. However, behind the glimmering rocks, lie a darker story. Most of the minerals Pakistan claim it can supply, do not originate in Punjab province, the power base of Pakistan’s Army. These minerals come from the resource-rich but brutally oppressed land of Balochistan.

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