ISLAMABAD – The Supreme Court was told on Monday that the lease of Reko Diq gold and copper reserves in Balochistan to a foreign company was the biggest case of bad governance and irresponsibility in the country.
A four-member bench of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Muhammad Sair Ali, Justice Ghulam Rabbani and Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday, was hearing a case against the lease of Reko Diq reserves, worth over $260 billion, to foreign exploration companies in violation of law. Raza Kazim, lawyer for one of the petitioners, concluded his arguments by saying that Reko Diq lease was the biggest case of irresponsibility and eight times bigger than the Indian telecom scam, in which the Indian Supreme Court stayed the licence.
Justice Ramday recalled that the Indian IT minister had quit after the court gave its judgment. Justice Ramday observed that as per initial agreement made with the foreign company BHP/TCC, it was held that the company would give instructions to the Balochistan government. “This is very painful, how can a provincial government surrender in such a manner,” he maintained.
Kazim said the status of Tethyan Cooper Company (TCC) was like an agent, because it sold out the shares to another company. Justice Sair Ali asked the lawyer whether TCC was registered as a Pakistani company. The lawyer said that until 2000, it had not been registered, adding that the company wanted to form a monopoly in the area.
He said EL-6 and EL-8 were in their possession despite the fact that their licence expired in 2009. Kazim said the company also got possession of EL-25 and EL-26, for which it had not yet attained the licence.
