Story of Mohmand Strawberry – an eye-catching pink marble

The deposit was discovered in Tora Khawa, Tehsil Baizai by local miners

MOHMAND:

It is known as Mohmand Strawberry – a beautiful pink coloured marble with beautiful white clouds and eye-caching patterns, discovered in the Mohmand tribal district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) in 2005.

The area was soon engulfed by lawlessness but strangely the leaseholders were able to keep their quarry open and the product was supplied to the market non-stop.

The deposit was discovered in Tora Khawa, Tehsil Baizai in the mountainous region of Pak-Afghan border by local miners who then entered into a contract with the local tribesmen to start mining.

Soon quarries were established and the stone reached the Peshawar market where it was an instant hit due to its beautiful patterns and affordable prices.

A local leaseholder Arshad Khan told The Express Tribune that he and his partners were able to keep the marble quarry open during the peak of militancy.

“Unfortunately, my uncle Haji Omar Khan, who had majority stakes in the mining, was killed in a landmine blast along with a security officer in 2015. After that the political agents started creating problems for us and we were displaced from the mines despite the fact that we are the pioneers of marble mining in the district,” he said, adding that soon local residents also caused troubles egged on by the officials in administration. And despite the legal leaseholder, their quarry is still closed.

His story is not different from other leaseholders as majority of mines in the district are disputed which keep investors away from the entire tribal belt.

Mohmand Strawberry is found in nearby regions too so other leaseholders also started mining after 2015 but there is no regular supply to the market due to frequent quarrels between the leaseholders and local tribesmen who often demand 50 per cent share in the profit.

Arshad said that the district administration is part of the problem rather than the solution as far as mining in Mohmand is concerned.

“Many of the clerks in the administration are millionaires,” he maintained.

Transportation is another problem as marble quarries are located in the difficult mountainous region where government is reluctant to construct roads and in the settled districts traffic police doesn’t allow loaded trucks on the roads.

A truck driver Lazim Khan said that despite years of experience of driving in the mountains, he still felt uncomfortable on those unpaved roads.

“It is one problem to drive your truck in these mountains and even a bigger problem to deal with traffic police when you enter Peshawar or Charsadda,” he observed.

He said there should be a separate road for marble trucks.

Alamgir Khan, who works at a marble processing plant, said that strawberry is a beautiful stone and very tough too but still its price is lower because the supply is not constant.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 27^th, 2022.