Reko Diq project: Balochistan government accused of trying to award contract to blacklisted company

Balochistan government led by a nationalist party has been accused of trying to award Reko Diq goldmine exploration project to a blacklisted company which is now said to be operating under a different name. Hafiz Hamudullah, a senator of Jamiat Ulem-e-Islam-Fazal from Balochistan, made this accusation and added that he had already drawn the attention of the Upper House of Parliament to the issue by moving a motion that some responsible people of the provincial government have held a secret meeting with the company representatives in London.
The JUI-F senator also claimed that the situation of militancy in Balochistan is as bad as during the tenures of previous governments. He said that nationalist political parties are intentionally not focusing on murders and other crimes taking place in the province as their party is in power now.
"There has been no improvement in the law and order situation and the only difference post 2013 general elections is that the nationalists are not vigorously highlighting issues because they are in the government now and the local media is supporting them," he alleged.
According to him, Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochsitan Package (AHBP) implementation was not more than five percent and that was also largely on the fiscal side whereas nothing has been implemented on the administrative side. The AHBP was no solution to a crisis-riddled province as the problem was much broader and there is a need to find a political solution to the problem by taking onboard all stakeholders, he added.
He said there has been no visible improvement in corruption and the incompetence of the incumbent provincial government is evident from the fact that all the development funds allocated in 2013-14 have lapsed. The Supreme Court of Pakistan had ruled against Canada's Barrick Gold Corp and Chile's Antofagasta Plc in a long-running dispute with a provincial government of Balochistan over their right to develop a $3.3 billion copper-gold deposit.
The apex court had ruled the agreement of Tethyan Copper Co joint venture to develop the Reko Diq mine in Balochistan invalid. The province of Balochistan originally signed a deal in 1993 to develop Reko Diq with Australia's BHP, now BHP Billiton Ltd. Antofagasta and Barrick spent $200 million to take over the project in 2006 but the Balochistan government had refused to convert the exploration permit into a mining license. However, the ruling National Party outrightly rejected the allegations levelled by Hamudullah. Rehmat Ali Baloch, a senior leader of National Party told Business Recorder over the phone from Quetta that with almost 99 percent writ of the government has been established in the province and normalcy largely restored.
"These people who are criticising us used to travel along with 10 security guards and now they are roaming without any guard, which reflects a significant improvement in law and order situation," he maintained. He said that all previous governments' ministers - from General Pervez Musharraf era to 2013 - used to stay in Islamabad due to security threats rarely visiting Balochistan and leaving the province at the mercy of militant groups instead of finding a solution to the problem.
"All our ministers are working round the clock with full dedication. The chief minister [Dr Abdul Malik] is working for about 17-18 hours per day. He meets about 1500-2000 people on daily basis to know their problems and issues directives on the spot...this is what we're doing instead of staying in Balochistan House," he stated.
In the past deputy commissioners, assistant commissioners, school headmasters and other top government officials were hardly seen in their offices as they were victims to lawlessness. He added: "Now all the government officers are performing their duties without any fear. The schools are open and the students are going to schools...this is what we've done."
About the awarding of a goldmine exploration contact to Tethiyan, he said these were mere allegations and no underhand negotiations were under way with the company. The provincial government has formed a committee which is looking into the matter and all the agreements will be inked in a transparent manner, he added. "Our policy is very clear and that's utilisation of the natural resources in a judicious manner for the uplift of the province. We have never done anything against the decision of the apex court and no company will be allowed to flout the rules in future," he maintained.