- Supreme Court had enquired about environmental friendliness of Reko Diq project
- The counsel informed that all environmental considerations had been taken into account
- The court was told that Pakistan’s investment was through three government-owned entities
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday resumed hearing the presidential reference on the Reko Diq agreement and was informed regarding the environmental friendliness of the project.
A five-member larger bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Muneeb Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, and Justice Jamaal Khan Mandokhel heard the presidential reference filed in the case.
The president on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had filed the reference seeking the top court’s opinion on the Reko Diq settlement agreement.
During the course of proceedings, lawyer Makhdoom Ali Khan presented arguments on the court’s query about the environmental friendliness of Reko Diq project and said that all environmental considerations had been taken into account in the Reko Diq project.
On a court query about the usage of water for the project, Makhdoom Ali Khan said that the water to be used by the company was not usable by living organisms. He said the water from the pipeline would go into the sea after being cleaned at Gwadar port.
The Chief Justice asked whether the seawater could be brought to the Reko Diq project for use. The counsel replied that Gwadar was 680 km far and it was impossible to fetch water daily.
Justice Mandokhel said that continuous use of water in the project could lead to drought in Balochistan. The counsel said that according to the research, water storage in Reko Diq was more than the total life of the project.
The Chief Justice asked whether it was not possible for a foreign company to set up a water recycling plant in Balochistan. He asked about the protections and privileges of the labourers working in Reko Diq mine and added that benefits for local workers should be better.
The counsel replied that local labour laws would apply to the employees of Reko Diq mine. The values of the United Nations and the International Labour Organization would adhere, he added.
Justice Yahya Afridi asked to compare the salaries of workers in Barrick Gold’s ongoing projects in Pakistan and other countries. Justice Ijazul Ahsan said that the rights of mining workers were violated all over the world. He asked the counsel to explain the framework of labour protection.
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Advocate Jahanzeb Awan, the lawyer of the government-owned institutions investing in the project, said that the government of Pakistan was investing 50 percent in the deal.
He said Pakistan’s investment was not direct but through three government-owned entities – OGDCL, Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), and Government Holding Private Company.
He said that the three government financial institutions would invest $3 billion in the project. he added that Pakistan had to pay a fine of $900 million along with an investment of $4.5 billion.
He said that the three government financial institutions had paid fine of $562 million imposed on the country. He said 64 percent of the benefit from Reko Diq project would go to the public sector.
He further said audit of all project transactions would be available to all stakeholders. Subsequently, the hearing of the case was adjourned till November 29.
