Mineral exploration

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government is embarking on a new era in the erstwhile federally administered tribal areas (Fata) as it prepares to issue leases and licences for mining in the region.

The government had passed amendments to the existing mines and minerals law late last year. Under the law, locals will have the first pick for licences and leases to mines in these areas and they can enter into joint ventures with mining companies to run the mines and exploit the treasures below. Moreover, further protections have been prescribed for mine workers with greater regulation.

To make the process easier, the provincial government said they are working on developing an online portal to make it easier to apply for mining licences online. The provincial mines minister has promised to make around 50-kilometres of roads worth Rs400 million to service mines in NMTDs. The law, though, has drawn the ire of locals who argue that it ends their ancestral ownership of land in the newly merged tribal districts (NMTDs), and thereby puts question marks over their ownership of the ores mined in these mines. Lawmakers from the opposition and NMTDs in the provincial assembly have complained about how the government pushed the law through the house in haste without allowing for any real debate on it.

The provincial government, though, believes that the law and its efforts to boost mining in the province will not only create employment opportunities for locals but also create natural wealth for the region in particular and the country in general. Moreover, it believes the law will open the doors for foreign investors to come in with the necessary expertise. With so much riding on this project, perhaps the provincial government will do well to include residents of NMTDs in the project, assuaging their apprehensions over the new rules. Hostile locals who feel cheated out of their wealth will only breed contempt that we all can do without.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 5^th, 2020.

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