ICSID gives Balochistan govt, Dr Samar the green signal in Reko Diq case

In one of the biggest triumphs for a developing country in the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), Government of Balochistan and Dr Samar Mubarakmand have been given the green light to go through with their mining and smelting project, at the expense of Tethyan Copper Company (TCC). The foreign company’s pleas with regards to irreparable loss and urgency have also been snubbed in the ICSID Tribunal’s 45-page verdict. Following ICSID’s go ahead, Dr Samar and his team have been asked to keep the tribunal informed regarding the activities being carried out in Reko Diq.

TCC had been vying for an 18-month stay order and wanted the international arbitration institution to freeze the provincial government’s work in the 99-square-kilometres area that included the H/4 deposit. Baloch government’s rebuttal claimed that they had already been working on H/4, located at a distance of 12 kilometres from H/14 and H/15 – the two deposits for which TCC had earlier filed the feasibility report. The Mining Authority of Balochistan had also rejected TCC’s claims on a 99km zone that had 14 deposits citing the fact that the —- company had given a feasibility report of merely 6km that included only two deposits. Dr Samar had earlier shed light on the technical details of the project in front of the tribunal, highlighting early development work on the project as being in the interest of the people of Balochistan and Pakistan.

The legal arguments on behalf of Pakistan were addressed by Cherie Blair QC, Ahmer Bilal Soofi, Arthur Marriott QC, Mahnaz Malik, John Kingston, the Balochistan Advocate General also being present during the proceedings. The esteemed tribunal had renowned Judges and eminent scholars including the likes of Klaus Sachs, Lord Hoffman and Stanimir A Alexandrov, and after five weeks worth of extensive deliberation the tribunal gave the historic verdict in Pakistan’s favour.

Dr Samar Mubarakmand, while talking to Pakistan Today, underscored the monumental victory and praised the ICSID’s impartiality. “ICSID always decides things on merit, and having by far the stronger of the two cases, the edge was always with us.” Dr Samar said. He added, “We are hoping to begin the mining work within the next month or six weeks.” Dr Samar while criticizing TCC’s demands of an 18-month stay order saying, “Mining needs to commence as soon as possible; we can’t afford to further delay working on province’s economic prosperity. We now have the land and the needed manpower to begin the mining work.”

Ahmer Bilal Soofi also highlighted Dr Samar’s contribution to fast-tracking the economic development of the Balochi people and hailed the tribune’s decision as “one of the biggest victories ever” for a developing country in the ICSID. “It was one of the biggest cases ever presented in the international court, and winning the case at the expense of a foreign company is a massive achievement for the country” Ahmer said discussing the case with Pakistan Today. Citing TTC’s manoeuvres as a breach of national sovereignty he added, “We are a sovereign nation and hence the government should decide the fate of its opulent zones”. “TCC were never given any licenses regarding mining work in Reko Diq and no concession agreement had been executed. It was a straightforward case and justice was done with the final verdict,” he added. Commenting on TTC’s work in Reke Diq Ahmer said, “Despite two decades worth of exploration in the zones, and after having monopolised nearly a thousand kilometer TCC had only managed to file a feasibility report of merely 6km.” “They really had no case,” he exclaimed.

A meeting for the Reko Diq Board of Governors is scheduled for Monday, Dec 17, which would determine the schedule of mining work in the area.