ISLAMABAD – The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday ordered the Balochistan advocate general to submit by today (Tuesday) complete records of approvals and relaxations in rules given by the former chief minister of Balochistan for the Reko Diq project.
A three-member bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Muhammad Sair Ali and Justice Ghulam Rabbani was hearing a case against leasing of Reko Diq gold and copper mines in Balochistan worth over $260 billion to foreign exploration and mining company Tethyan Copper Company (TCC) – a Canadian and Chilean consortium of Barrick Gold and Antofagasta Minerals – by the federal and provincial government in violation of law.
The chief justice said that the court’s only interest was to ensure the rule of law within the state and it would make sure that nothing was against the law in the Reko Diq case. Khalid Anwar, counsel for the TCC, argued that under Rule 3 of the Mining Act, no relaxation was required because the government of Balochistan was enjoying the power to take a decision and it had already taken it.
Chaudhry asked if the prospecting licence was given by the Balochistan government or the Mining Committee, to which Anwar replied that the Balochistan government and BHP Minerals had formed a joint venture because the government had not found a single company willing to invest such a huge amount on the project until then, and the government could have 25 percent of it.
He said the BHP had applied for a prospecting license, which was duly granted. He said when exploration and prospecting licenses were issued there was no need to go into a joint venture. Chief Justice observed that it was not the court’s problem and it was there to clear one thing only: that there was nothing illegal and everything was in accordance with the country’s laws.
“Pakistan is a sovereign state and no-one can bypass the law on the basis of their monetary investments,” he stated. Anwar said it was a mutual agreement, otherwise after six months it was to be seized automatically. He said it was their duty that the agreement between the BHP and Balochistan government should be totally legal and it was under consideration for a long time. He argued that the BHP had visited the site many times, spending a lot of money for almost three years and only then was the agreement finalised.
The chief justice said that the court had not found anything in the documents that reflected the government’s consent. Anwar replied that the matter was dealt with by the Balochistan Development Authority (BDA). The chief justice said that the BDA was an independent authority and had no right to sign any agreement on the part of the Balochistan government. Anwar said the decision was taken by the government and the erstwhile chief minister had signed it on July 13, 1993. Chaudhry pointed out that in some documents, the governor had signed.
Anwar argued that the summary was signed by the chief minister in 1993 and had to go through various departments. The chief justice then observed that the permission was granted earlier and the process was still carrying on, to which Anwar replied that one department had sought some more time so it was decided that permission should be granted now and if the department had any objection, it would be removed later on.
Chaudhry said if that was allowed by the chief minister, leasing documents should be on the record of the court.
Anwar stated that only the government could provide it, and the government had never objected to the project on the grounds that it was violating the law. He said that for the last 16 years the Balochistan government had supported the company and never pointed out any illegalities. He said that only on one occasion the chief minister had given a statement but that was also not to point out any illegality in the project.
The hearing was adjourned till Tuesday.
