Politicians and activists in Balochistan fear the loss of precious resources in Reko Diq as a result of bargaining with a foreign country.
They have said that another foreign company, likely to be from China, would play the alternative role of former Tethyan Copper Company (of Australia).
The Australian company was restricted to work in Reko Diq, despite the lease agreement, back in 2011. The company sued Pakistan for the violation of the treaty, after which the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) awarded the country with the penalty of six billion US dollars. Former president of Supreme Court Bar Association Aman Ullah Kinzai showed similar concern, saying the to-be-signed company would resemble TCC and East India Company.
Baloch Yekjehti Committee (BYC), in its press release, said that Reko Diq is a “Baloch national asset” like the other national wealth. Making way for foreigners to plunder the national resources was not acceptable, it added.
National Party (NP) president and former chief minister of Balochistan Dr. Abdul Malik Baloch said that the in-camera briefing about Reko Diq held on Monday was raising their concerns about the future of the project.
The former CM demanded making public all the decisions related to the copper and mining project of Reko Diq. Dr. Malik warned that if any agreement was made contrary to the interests of the people, the political parties and provincial assembly members who participated in the in-camera briefing would be held responsible.
A senior leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Balochistan Naeem Baloch called the in-camera briefing regarding the Reko Diq a shameful act. He further said that “the people of Balochistan do not even have a good hospital and now our reserves are being looted and spent elsewhere”. After the eighteenth amendment, the PPP leader said, provinces had full authority over natural sources.
Prime Minister Imran Khan has announced that the federal government will bear the financial expenditure pertaining to the Reko Diq copper and gold mining project in Balochistan.
In a tweet on Wednesday night, PM Khan elaborated that the decision was taken in consistency with Islamabad’s plan to improve the conditions of smaller provinces.
The prime minister said that the move would help bring in a new era of fortune for Balochistan and its people.
The premier further said the step would help usher in an era of prosperity for the people and province.
The offer of the premier was welcomed by Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo, who on Tuesday rejected allegations of opposition parties that a secret deal had been signed on the Reko Diq gold project by the provincial government.
