Reko Diq Company accepts probe by independent commission
Updated at Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD: The Tethyan Copper Company Pakistan (Private) Limited, a joint venture between two major Canadian and Chilean mining companies, working on the multi-billion dollar controversial gold and copper mines project at Reko Diq in Balochistan agreed on Tuesday to set up an independent commission of experts to examine the numerous confusing aspects of the huge mining deal to the satisfaction of both the public and official stakeholders including the Balochistan government.
The spokesperson of the Tethyan Copper Company (TCC), Samia Shah conceded in the
TV show “Kehnay Mein Kia Harj Hai?”, hosted by Mohammed Malick on Tuesday night, that her company will welcome such an independent commission. Other participants of the programme while welcoming this development however insisted that such an expert commission must be chosen and paid for by the government of Balochistan to exclude any possibility of the company influencing the commission’s findings.
Former Governor Balochistan, Lt Gen (R) Abdul Qadir Baloch, President National Party, Senator Dr Abdul Malik and Group Editor The News, Shaheen Sehbai also participated in the programme.
Dozens of questions were raised including the questioning of TCC’s capacity to explore and effectively exploit the mines, the role of the previous government of Balochistan in helping TCC by going out of the way to make or bend rules, the contradictions in the officially declared size of the gold and copper mines and the real worth of these minerals, the complexities and so called games played by these mining companies in naming and renaming their companies and re-structuring their corporate structures besides the feelings in Balochistan on how they were being robbed of their wealth as had been the case of them being robbed in Sui Gas and Saindak copper projects.
The TCC spokesperson Samia, for her part explained the minute details of their agreements and claimed that the company had not violated any rule. She also stated that whatever agreements had been signed were done by previous companies with the previous Balochistan Government whereas TCC had taken over from the earlier project managers in 2006 and had simply “inherited” all these agreements.
Senator Dr Malik said his province has been looted in the past but this time this huge resource will not be allowed to be snatched away from the people of Balochistan. “There will be huge resistance, including demonstrations and public mobilization on this issue, if it was not demonstrably done to ensure the protection of the interests of the Balochi people,” was his categorical warning.
Gen (R) Qadir Baloch also raised some very pertinent questions about the official declarations of the “real potential and worth” of the Reko Diq mines, arguing that the people were still unsure about unquestionable authentic facts of the project and the deal.
Shaheen Sehbai said that he had, in his news report, which started the whole controversy and spurred the federal and provincial governments into adopting stances, albeit conflicting at times, raised the issue because a huge cloud of conspiracy was hanging on it and scores of critical questions had remained unanswered with nothing being told to the people of Pakistan about the secret meetings being held by the TCC executives and the present PPP government.
It is pertinent to point out that even in the clarification issued by the federal government, such meetings were not denied and the official explanation had only talked about a committee which had already been formed to look afresh at the deal. This committee, however, never had its first meeting.
Shaheen Sehbai suggested that an independent commission of credible experts should be set up so that they could go into the details of the project and verify whether the claims of the mining companies were right or whether they were trying to make money by using the one-sided agreements that had been signed by previous Balochistan government officials to favour the mining giants.
Mohammd Malick also recalled that a top official of the previous government, directly involved with the award of the original contract in 1993, was at present living a life of extreme luxury in Dubai. The fact was also corroborated by a smiling Gen Qadir.
Senator Dr Malik claimed that he had convincing evidence about another ongoing covert move to throw out the present Canadian and Chilean companies out of Reko Diq and give the mining project to a third party by top PPP leaders. Chief Minister of Balochistan Aslam Raisani had cancelled the agreement of TCC in December 2009 but after that announcement no explanation has been given why it was done and what will happen now, further raising the cloud of mystery about the whole project.
All participants, including the representatives of the TCC agreed at the end that an independent commission of experts should be set up so that the unanswered questions are addressed and rights of all the parties are protected. It was, however, stressed that the commission should not be like the Steering Committee formed by the government which had never held even one meeting and two of its key members had no information who had been included in that committee which never met even once.
Reko Diq Company accepts probe by independent commission
