Reko Diq case: SC seeks complete record of licences

CJ says there is a lack of coordination between the govt and its institutions.

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Tuesday has again directed the Balochistan government to submit a complete record of the prospecting and mining licences awarded to the Tethyan Copper Company (TCC) for the Reko Diq gold and copper mines by Wednesday.

The court warned the Secretary Industries Balochistan to thoroughly examine the record before submitting it in the court. A statement given in haste may damage the career of an officer. The bench also asked Advocate-General Balochistan Dr Salahuddin Mengal for details of concessions given to TCC in violation of rules.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry observed that a relaxation in rules without approval of the mining committee had no legal status.

A four-member bench of the apex court comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Muhammad Sair Ali, Justice Ghulam Rabbani and Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday was hearing a number of petitions against awarding the contract to TCC.

Ahmad Raza Kasuri, counsel for the Sanjrani tribe, told the court that in the 1994 joint venture agreement BHP-Billiton was awarded more than one licence at a time, in violation of Article 247(3) of the Constitution. According to the rules, he said a company may obtain only one licence at a time. He said the agreement should therefore not be renewed.

“If your contention is accepted, there would be no more mining in the country. Do you want us to go back to the Stone Age?” Justice Ramday questioned the counsel. “Development projects would also suffer,” the chief justice observed.

Mengal informed the court that the Balochistan Development Authority (BDA) had not written any letter to  the mining committee for granting a relaxation in the rules, which he said was also confirmed by the Director-General Mining and Development, Balochistan. The court asked him to present the written statement as well as the notification of the 1994 joint venture agreement, but he did not have this document.

“There is a lack of coordination between the government and its institutions”, the chief justice observed. Rules may not be circumvented without the mining committee’s approval.

The court adjourned the case for Wednesday (today).

Besides the petitioners, 26 senators mainly from the JUI-F, including former minister Azam Khan Swati, Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haidri, Dr Muhammad Ismail Buledi, Maulana Gul Naseeb, Abdul Ghafoor Qureshi, Malik Rashid Ahmed Khan, are also a party to the case.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 9^th, 2011.