Taliban Fight Cuts Pakistan Marble Flow

The News of Karachi, Pakistan, reported June 7 that the Frontier Mining Owners Association (FOMA) is seeking government help to restart the marble industry in northwestern Pakistan in the Swat and Buner districts.
FOMA President Abdullah Bacha noted that the unrest in Buner cost marble-factory owners millions of rupees, and approximately 184,000 people in the trade aren’t working.
Prior to the emergence of Taliban in Buner, Bacha said, 500 marble factories were running while marble mining was done in around 1,000 mines, producing approximately half of Pakistan’s total marble production.
Bacha told the News that marble-factory machinery has been damaged or stolen, and factory owners and workers fled the area due to ongoing strife.