ISLAMABAD – President Dr. Arif Alvi has filed a reference in the Supreme Court, seeking the apex court’s opinion on the settlement agreement on Reko Diq.
President Alvi, filed the reference in the top court on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif under Article 186 of the Constitution, as the process of completing the final agreements and legal steps making steady progress at one of the largest undeveloped copper-gold deposits in the world.
The development months after the committee, led by the finance minister and the shareholders of Tethyan Copper Company (TCC), agreed to a framework for the settlement and revival of the Reko Diq project.
Last month, Sharif led the federal cabinet and approved sending a presidential reference on the Reko Diq case to the apex court, seeking opinions on previous judgments on the matter and about foreign investment’s rules as per the law.
Earlier this year, the Balochistan government announced that the work on the lucrative open-pit mine project Reko Diq will be started shortly, saying the launch of the mega project will help elevate the economic and social conditions of residents of the mineral-rich region.
It was reported that the project aimed to generate an annual income of $1 billion for the province.
Canada-based mining group holds 50 percent of the share while the remaining half will be split equally between the federal and provincial governments.
Pakistan previously reached an out-of-court deal with a foreign firm that agreed to waive $11 billion in penalties and revive a mining project stalled for more than a decade.
Pakistan, Barrick Gold agree to revive Balochistan’s Reko Diq Project
It came to a standstill after the local government refused to renew Tethyan Copper’s lease, in the country’s top court declared it invalid in 2013. In 2019, Pakistan got a penalty for unlawful denial of mining.
