In the twenty-first century, the architecture of global power has undergone a fundamental shift, moving beyond the traditional metrics of standing armies and formal alliances toward a command over the foundational materials of the modern economy. From high-end semiconductors to hypersonic missiles, and from grid-scale batteries to orbital satellites, states that secure critical minerals are quietly redrawing the strategic map. If oil dictated the kinetic movements of the twentieth century, it is obscure metals, unearthed from remote terrains, that now determine which nations build, which nations defend, and which nations endure.

It is within this subtle yet highly consequential contest that Pakistan is beginning to emerge. Long sidelined in discussions of strategic mining, the country is now being reassessed as a vital link in a tightening global supply chain for antimony, a little-known element to the public but a vital input for defence systems, energy storage, and advanced manufacturing. Antimony’s elevation from a geological footnote to a strategic commodity has placed Pakistan in an unfamiliar yet increasingly influential position, not through political alignment or military confrontation, but through the undeniable weight of industrial relevance.

Global demand for antimony has risen sharply as defence manufacturing expands and supply-chain resilience becomes a priority for the world’s leading industrial economies. Used in ammunition, night-vision systems, infrared sensors, flame retardants, and semiconductors, antimony........

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