The Supreme Court on Tuesday completed the hearing of a reference filed in the Reko Diq case by President Dr Arif Alvi.
Nov 29(ABC): A five-member larger bench — headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial — heard the case and will give its verdict on the presidential reference next week.
The apex court held 17 hearings on the Reko Diq presidential reference. The chief justice thanked all the judicial assistants, additional attorney general and lawyers.
On October 18, President Alvi filed the reference on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to seek the top court’s opinion on the Reko Diq settlement agreement under article 186 of the Constitution of Pakistan.
The president asked two legal questions in reference.
- Whether the Government of Balochistan or Government of Pakistan can enter into an international agreement as per Supreme Court’s Judgment, in the Molvi Abdul Haq vs Federation of Pakistan 2013 Case.
- If the proposed Foreign Investment (Protection and Promotion) Act 2022 would accord to the constitution.
In March 2022, the-then finance minister Shaukat Tarin announced that an agreement for the development of the Reko Diq mine had been reached with a foreign company Barrick Gold, according to which Balochistan would have a 25% share.
Pakistan and Tethyan Copper Company (TCC) had agreed to divide shares with each side getting 50% of them, contrary to 25% shares for Pakistan in the previous deal.
In 2019, Pakistan managed to get a reduced penalty from a massive $16 billion to $6 billion in the Reko Diq case. In a 700-page ruling, the Washington-based International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) awarded a $4.08 billion penalty and $1.87 billion in interest to Pakistan. The amount will be paid to TCC.
The firm had been granted a licence for gold and copper mining at Reko Diq, area of Balochistan, but the former chief justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Chaudhry had cancelled the agreement with the company.