A deadlock between the government and its allied parties Monday continued to persist over the proposed Reko Diq Bill, 24NewsHD TV channel reported on Monday.
The government members including Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani tried hard to convince Balochistan National Party chief Sardar Akhtar Mangal and other legislators from Balochistan but to no avail.
Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Federal Minister Ayaz Sadiq and Minister of Law Nazir Tarar also reached to convince the allies.
Chairman Sen Sadiq Sanjrani, Federal Minister Maulana Asad Mehmood and others were also present in the meeting of government allies
Resultantly, the government decided not to table the proposed bill in the national assembly session today.
Earlier, the Senate passed the Foreign Investment (Promotion and Protection) Bill, 2022 — paving the way for the reconstitution of a Reko Diq mining project.
At the outset of the session today, Tarar presented the draft law which was a part of the Senate’s supplementary agenda.
In a brief speech that was interrupted by protests, the minister said that foreign investment was very important for the country to progress. “It is in everyone’s knowledge that the Reko Diq project came to a halt […] because of which Pakistan suffered several fines.”
Sanjrani asked the house members if they had any objections to the bill. At this, PPP Senator Raza Rabbani and National Party’s Tahir Bizenjo raised their hands in objection to the law.
However, the legislation still went through as Senate chairman said that the “Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Bill, 2022, is adopted” and adjourned the session till Thursday.
Pertinent to note, the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) on Dec 9 ruled that the new deal on the Reko Diq gold and copper mining project in Balochistan is legal.
Reko Diq is one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper-gold mines. The project is being restarted after remaining on hold since 2011.
The SCP announced the ruling on a reference sent by President Arif Alvi under Article 186 of the Constitution of Pakistan in the Reko Diq Project on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The president asked the apex court whether a new deal on the Reko Diq project was legally safe under the Constitution of Pakistan and international arbitration.
The SCP in its ruling said that international experts assisted the court and added that the Reko Diq deal is not in contradiction with the SC’s order in 2013.
The agreement was done by the federal and Balochistan governments in line with the opinion of experts and there is nothing illegal in it.
The Foreign Investment (Promotion and Protection) Bill, 2022, aims to protect investors from unnecessary court proceedings and other hassles.
It states that the federal government will notify additional investments, sectors, industries, and projects as eligible investments — which will not be less than $500,000 million. Under the bill, protection will be given to investments done on the basis of international agreements.
Furthermore, eligible investors would be provided secrecy in the bank transaction under the law.
The original agreement for the Reko Diq mining project was signed in 2006, and it set aside a share of 37.5pc to Canada’s Barrick Gold and Chile’s Antofagasta each while the Balochistan government received a 25pc stake.
The two international firms were part of the consortium Tethyan Copper company and had found vast gold and copper deposits at Reko Diq in Balochistan.
But the hugely lucrative open-pit mine project came to a standstill in 2011 after the local government refused to renew Tethyan Copper’s lease, and in 2013 Supreme Court declared it invalid.
In 2019, the World Bank’s arbitration tribunal committee imposed a penalty on Pakistan for unlawful denial of mining.
However, in March, the federal and Balochistan governments reached an agreement with two international firms — Antofagasta PLC and Barrick Gold Corporation — on a framework to reconstitute the Reko Diq project that allowed Antofagasta to make an exit.
The reconstituted project, which will excavate gold and copper reserves in Balochistan, saved Pakistan from an $11 billion penalty in the Reko Diq case.
Under the new agreement, Barrick decided to become a 50 per cent partner with the governments of Pakistan and Balochistan and three state-owned entities in the project, while the Chilean firm exited the contract in exchange for $900 million by Pakistani shareholders.
Balochistan government holds a 25pc stake in the project under the new pact and the rest of the 25pc shareholding is controlled equally (8.33pc) by the three state-owned enterprises.