LAHORE – A contempt of court petition has been filed in the Supreme Court’s Lahore Registry against Tethyan Copper Company for launching a wrong propaganda about its gold mining business in Chagai district, Balochistan, and hiding facts about the quantity of gold reserves in Balochsitan’s Reko-Diq mines.
The petition was filed by Watan Party President Shaukat Khan through Barrister Zafar Ullah Khan, stating that Tethyan Copper Company has started a wrong propaganda through deceptive advertisements in national newspapers justifying its mining business in Chagai district of Balcohsitan to influence the ongoing Supreme Court proceedings against it and mislead the people of Balochsitan.
The petitioners said the case was fixed for hearing on January 12 and since January 4, the managers of the TCC mining had been releasing mega advertisements in newspapers.
The petitioner said through the media propaganda, the company was painting itself as a true friend of people of Balochsitan claiming that it will bring prosperity in their life and in the life of their coming generation also.
The petitioner said the TCC wrongly told the prime minister of Pakistan that the whole mining business in the Reko Diq mines is only worth dollars 50 billion, but these reserves of gold and copper were more than one trillion dollars.
The petitioner said the TCC claimed that it would be earning no big profits from the mining business in Chagai district and it was just working for the welfare of Balochistan and its people, but it is stealing gold and copper of the country by fooling the Pakistan government.
The petitioner said the TCC was promising to the local people of Chagai district and Balochistan that they would be provided with 11,500 direct jobs during the mining construction phase, 2,500 permanent jobs for 56 years and 3,000 indirect permanent jobs such as suppliers and contractors etc.
The company was claiming it would give stable employment to 3 to 4 generations of people of Balochistan, besides setting up schools etc. for the local people.
The petitioner said a feasibility study on Reko Diq mines had estimated capital costs for the project at US dollars 3.3 billion with yearly outlay of about 270,000 ounces of gold and 400 million to 426 million pounds of copper in the first five years which will be a big theft of the national resources.
The federal government, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources, government of Balochistan, the State Bank of Pakistan governor, Ministry of Mines Balochistan, and Tethyan Copper Company Pakistan are respondents to the petition.
The petitioner prayed to the court to initiate contempt of court proceedings against the respondents, blacklist the Tethyan Copper Company and stop it from carrying out any mining business in any part of the country to save the national reserves from theft.
