Reko Diq project: CJ forms five-judge bench to hear presidential reference from 25th

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial on Wednesday constituted a five-judge bench for hearing the presidential reference on Reko Diq project.

The bench, headed by Justice Bandial and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Muneeb Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, will commence hearing of the reference from October 25.

Two questions have been referred to the Supreme Court; Whether the earlier judgment of the Supreme Court reported as Maulvi Abdul Haque Baloch versus Federation of Pakistan PLD 2013 SC 641, the Constitution of Pakistan, laws or public policy prevent the Government of Pakistan and the Government of Balochistan from entering into the Reko Diq Agreements or affect their validity? And if enacted, would the proposed Foreign Investment (Protection and Promotion) Bill, 2022 be valid and constitutional?

The consortium Tethyan Copper Company — of which Barrick and Chile’s Antofagasta controlled 37.5 percent each — found vast gold and copper deposits at Reko Diq in Balochistan. However, the hugely lucrative open-pit mine project came to a standstill in 2011 after the local government refused to renew Tethyan Copper’s lease, and in 2013 the Supreme Court declared it invalid.

In 2019, the World Bank’s arbitration tribunal committee imposed a penalty on Pakistan for unlawful denial of mining. After a decade-long legal battle, Pakistan announced the out-of-court settlement with Barrick Gold in March. Antofagasta agreed to exit the project.

Under the out-of-court deal, an $ 11 billion penalty slapped against Pakistan by a World Bank arbitration court and other liabilities would be waived and Barrick and its partners would invest $ 10 billion in the project.

After reaching an agreement on a framework for the settlement and revival of the Reko Diq project in March 2022, Barrick Gold Corporation, a Canada-based mining company, had asked the government to get the Reko Diq gold and copper deal stamped by the Parliament and the Supreme Court for the long-term sustainability of the company’s investment in the project.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022