At first glance, the precious stone market in Peshawar, known locally as Namak Mandi – “salt market” in Ourdou – seems banal and unattractive. The narrow routes, the ruined stores and the sister of open wastewater creates an image of negligence and decomposition, hiding the dynamic trade which prosperous inside. However, this unpretentious small market has become a hinge center for the business of precious stones. It is the largest and most important in Pakistan and rough precious stone and mineral specimens walkDeeply linked to borders, conflicts and undocumented economies in the region.
Namak Mandi went to a center of precious stones in the 1970s with the arrival of Afghan migrants who fled the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Even today, Afghans have a monopoly almost on the business of precious stones, local merchants sharing that around 80% of the stores on the precious stone market belong to the Afghans. Namak Mandi remains essential in the connection of local merchants with global buyers through continents and facilitates agreements of thousands of dollars daily.
However, this sparkling trade hides a shadow economy. Namak Mandi’s precious stone market has been linked to smuggling, illicit cross -border networks, money laundering and financing activism in the border region of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Despite the question of activism and strict borders along the Pakistani-Afghanistan border, a large part of the stones of Namak Mandi comes from Afghanistan and entered Pakistan by Pakistan by Pakistan informal Canals. From Peshawar, the stones will be illegally exported to the international markets.
In Pakistan, the situation around the trade in precious stones remains worrying. Despite being among the best producers of precious stones, the country officially exports a single 8 million dollars in precious stones per year. On the other hand, it is estimated that the precious stones evaluated at approximately $ 5 billion are introduced as a contraband of Pakistan each year, these undocumented transactions highlight the challenges of trade regulations in a region marked by porous borders and long -standing conflicts.
Pakistan has the potential To export 800,000 carats of ruby, 87,000 carats of emeralds and 5 million carats of peridots per year. Some of the most remarkable precious stones include emeralds of Swat, Topaz Rose de Mardan, Mohmand nephritis, Kohistan peridots and Rubis of Pakistani Jammu and Kashmir, due to their clarity, their durability and their sparkling design. Many countries, including China, Afghanistan, the United States, Belgium, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Thailand and India, import raw precious stones from Pakistan and export finished products and jewelry in the world.
In this photo test, on the basis of observations over two days, I immerse myself in the hidden duality of Namak Mandi, a market that seems insignificant but works like an ears of range in the world supply chain on precious stones. (The first day, I was accompanied by a friend of Waziristan, Rehman Dawar, who also helped to capture certain photographs.) Thanks to visuals capturing his deceptive facade, the complex crafts of his craftsmen and the stories of his merchants, this test explores the role of trade in the trade in the trade of trade and the cross -crossed scholarship holder.
Namak Mandi is not only a market; It is a microcosm of the history, the resilience of the region and the complex dance between the legality and the informality in the economies of the Borderland.
The precious stones market is known (as a place of commerce), but its true scale, its richness and its global connections remain unknown to occasional observers. Recently, certain efforts have been launched to formalize this “known unknown”, such as the implementation of GEM export CenterWith a certification laboratory, an international messaging office, a bank and a customs office. By attacking smuggling, providing infrastructure and improving transparency, these initiatives could fill the gap between the hidden wealth of the market and its broader economic potential. The formalization would highlight market contributions, but would also empower craftsmen and traders, ensuring that this concealed gem of Pakistan shines on the world scene.
Thanks: Thanks to Rehman Dawar for his help to capture wonderful photos in Namak Mandi, Peshawar. All the photos were taken with the consent of the people involved.
Notice of non-responsibility: This publication is a product of the Cross-Border Conflict program: Evidence, Policy and Trends (XCEPT) of the FCDO, funded by the help of the British government. Xcept brings together leading experts to examine the border lands affected by conflicts, how conflicts connect between the borders and the factors that shape violent and peaceful behavior. This research is part of the Local Research Network of Xcept, which initiates experts in the field to build data, evidence and analyzes which reflect local experiences of fragility and conflict. For more information on Xcept and the local search network, visit www.xcept- research.org. The points of view expressed in the document do not necessarily reflect those of Xcept or the British government.