Balochistan PA passes resolution on Reko Diq

Passage of resolution comes a day after Supreme Court declared Reko Diq settlement agreement legal

QUETTA:

The Balochistan Assembly on Saturday adopted a resolution about the Reko Diq project amid opposition parties’ protest – fulfilling a pre-condition for the settlement agreement between Pakistan and Barrick Gold to proceed ahead.
The House adopted a resolution entrusting excise and other taxation powers to the federal government.

The resolution was tabled by the Parliamentary Secretary Rubaba Buledi.
The component parties of the joint opposition including the JUI-F and Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) staged a walkout from the House.

“This is an attempt to usurp the resources of Balochistan,” said Akhtar Hussain Langove, an opposition member belonging to the BNP-M.

Amid the uproar in the House, Balochistan Assembly Deputy Speaker Sardar Babar Khan Musakhel put the resolution for voting before the lawmakers.
Since there were only three or four opposition members, the House consequently adopted the resolution and delegated the taxation powers to the federal government.

The passage of this resolution came a day after the Supreme Court declared the Reko Diq settlement agreement legal.

“The SC judgment has proved our principled stance about the Reko Diq project,” said Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo.

He added that all political parties including the coalition partners and the opposition parties had supported the agreement with Barrick Gold Corporation.
However, Malik Naseer Ahmed Shahwani, the parliamentary leader of the BNP-M in the Balochistan Assembly told reporters after the session that they opposed the passage of the resolution.

“It is an injustice with the people of Balochistan,” he added.

Shahwani claimed that the provincial lawmakers were not informed about the tabling of the resolution during the Balochistan Assembly session.

On Friday, the SC declared that the settlement agreement between the Pakistani government and two international companies, Antofagasta and Barrick Gold Corporation, for the revival of the Reko Diq mining project was legal.

Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial announced the 13-page short order after a five-judge larger bench of the apex court reserved its decision on November 29 in the presidential reference on the matter.

The settlement agreement was signed in March and the presidential reference sought the SC’s opinion on whether or not its 2013 verdict prevented the Centre and provincial governments from entering into the implementation pact again.

The SC observed in its order that in the settlement deal, there was no violation of the apex court’s 2013 judgment, which had declared the first agreement as void.

The SC added that the federal and provincial governments had signed the agreement with expert opinion and that the Balochistan Assembly was taken into confidence as well.

It also stated that elected public representatives had not objected to the agreement either.

According to the order, the mining firm had assured that labour laws would be enforced and ensured corporate social responsibility.

Also on Friday, the Sindh Assembly passed two resolutions in connection with the Reqo Diq project, while setting aside all matters on the agenda of the legislature.
The resolutions, which were presented by MPA Mukesh Chawla, stressed the need for the Centre to create an international investor-friendly environment in Sindh as well as the protection of labourers’ rights.