Reko Diq petitions: Sovereignty can foil conspiracies, says SC

CJ says Pakistan is a sovereign state fully capable of thwarting any foreign conspiracy.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is a sovereign state fully capable of thwarting any foreign conspiracy and until “we maintain our sovereignty, no conspiracy can touch national integrity”, Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry said on Wednesday while hearing petitions against the leasing of the Reko Diq copper-gold project.

The court was hearing arguments of attorneys for the Sanjrani tribe and the mining firm, BHP.

Ahmad Raza Kasuri, the counsel for the Sanjrani tribe, said that the award for exploration licences to BHP was “an attack on the country’s sovereignty”.

He said the foreign company engaged in Reko Diq mines could prove to be “just like the East India Company, establishing schools where local children can be brain-washed”.

He said: “Conspiracies are being hatched against the country’s sovereignty.”

Terming Kasuri’s outburst emotional, the chief justice said: “Don’t be emotional and talk about the East India Company. We are a sovereign state and until we will maintain our sovereignty, we can foil any foreign conspiracy.”

Expressing confidence in the honour of the people of Balochistan, the chief justice said: “They will never ask (any such company) for establishing schools, but will (surely) rely on their own resources.”

Expressing the nation’s determination to preserve national sovereignty, he said: “If we have to, we will be content on just a meal every day … but will never seek anyone’s support.”

The court asked Abdul Hafeez Pirzada, the counsel for BHP, to commence his arguments on Thursday (today) by 11.30 am.

Earlier, Dr Salahuddin Men­gal, the advocate-general of Balochistan, produced before the court the record of the Reko Diq deal. Meanwhile, the court adjourned the hearing till Thursday (today).

Published in The Express Tribune, February 10^th, 2011.