[en] Coal, in spite its abundance availability in Pakistan, is a neglected source of energy. Its role as fuel is not more than five percent for the last four decades. Some of the coal, mined, in used as space heating in cold areas of Pakistan but more than 90% is being used in brick kilns. There are 185 billion tonnes of coal reserves in the country and hardly 3 million tonnes of coal is, annually, mined. Lakhra coal field is, presently, major source of coal and is considered the largest productive/operative coal field of Pakistan. It is cheaper coal compared to other coals available in Pakistan. As an average analysis of colas of the country, it shows that most of the coals are lignitic in nature with high ash and sulfur content. The energy potential is roughly the same but the cost/ton of coal is quite different. It may be due to methods of mining. There should be some criteria for fixing the cost of the coal. It should be based on energy potential of unit mass of coal. (author)