PESHAWAR: The Frontier Mine Owners Association (FMOA) President Sher Bandi Khan Marwat here Tuesday slammed the Pakistan Tahrik-e-Insaf Government for not consulting the stakeholders before finalizing the new mines and mineral policy, saying it would protect the interests of the investors with high financial resources in this sector besides depriving hundreds of thousands of labourers and poor miners of their earning.
"The conditions incorporated in the new policy are very hard and inflexible and only powerful investors would take benefit while small investors would say goodbye to this hard earned business," he told APP.
The President FMOA warned to launch protest drive in front of Imran Khan's residence in Bani Gala, Islamabad and outside Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly if their demands were not met in one week.
Marwat demanded of PTI chairman Imran Khan and Chief Minister KP to review the said policy and make it miners friendly.
"The new policy is designed to attract big investors from outside of KP province," he said, adding if the loopholes in the policy were not addressed would render thousands of labourers/miner jobless besides leading to capital flight from the province.
"The association rejects this new policy as we consider it against interest of small investors and would promote capitalists instead of developing natural resources and mining sector in the province on modern footing," he elaborated.
The province, he said, was badly affected by terrorism and flight of capital continue from Khyber Pakthunkhwa to other provinces due to power law and order situation but the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf led government has failed to devise a solid and comprehensive policy to promote the dwindling mines and mineral sector in the province.
The Allah Almighty, he said, had bestowed abundance of mines and mineral resources and full advantage could be taken only by devising a comprehensive policy with consultation of all stakeholders.
The mine owners and leaseholders, he said, were also determined to raise voice against the injustices and will knock every forum as we consider the new policy was tantamount to depriving labourers of their livelihood and force the investors to sack the workers owing to financial constraints.
On one side, he said Imran Khan was insisting on provision of quality education and health services for everyone but the poor labourers, who had lost their jobs, are being forced to stop sending their children to schools besides facing great hardship to get better treatment in hospitals, he said.
He alleged the lease holders were stopped form working on the sites while illegal excavation was in progress in different areas, adding the government was reluctant to take action against the people involved in illegal excavation.
Marwat said, the mines and mineral sector could be a big source of revenue generation for the provincial government but it needed a concrete policy to be devised in consultation with the mine owners and other stakeholders.
He said mine discoveries were being hijacked due to the imposition of unnecessary ban on new leases and licences over a long period. The miners and lease holders would be disallowed to use old tools and machinery for mining under the new policy as there is no mining institute to train workers in modern mining, he elaborated.
He said financial resources for purchase of high-cost machinery by lease holders and miners are also scarce," Marwat said.
He said significant transportation royalty was imposed on the mine owners, which is injustice and needed immediate reversal.
Marwat suggested the KP government to devise a mechanism for removal of all hurdles instead of stopping existing leases on pretext of introducing modern mining in the province.
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