Reko Diq Case: CJ says contract in breach of law

Says Pakistan Steel Mills contract was cancelled by the SC as it also was in violation of the law.

ISLAMABAD:

Heading a three-member Supreme Court (SC) bench hearing the Reko Diq case, Chief Justice (CJ) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Tuesday said that Article 5 of the Constitution should be considered before entering into an agreement with foreign companies.

The bench was hearing a set of identical petitions filed against leasing out of the gold and copper mines at Reko Diq, situated in Chaghai district of Balochistan.

During the hearing, the chief justice said that Article 5 of the Constitution made law applicable to everyone inside Pakistan and there was no requirement of citizenship for the law to apply.

Chief Justice Chaudhry remarked that the Pakistan Steel Mills contract was cancelled by the SC as it was in violation of the law, the same would apply to the Reko Diq agreement, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 12^th, 2012.