By Ahmad Mukhtar Naqshbandi
ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of Pakistan on Sunday approved two important agenda items related to Reko Diq Project to pave way for resuming the gold mining project at the earliest.
The Ministry of Finance issued a statement through its social media account and said that the approval will pave the way for the early start of the Reko Diq project in Balochistan’s Pakistan. According to the statement, the key items of the agenda regarding Reko Diq Project were approved in a meeting of ECC in Islamabad.
Gold mining in Balochistan
The Ministry tweeted, ” Finance Minister Ishaq Dar chaired a meeting of the ECC and approved two important agenda items related to Reko Diq Project thus paving the way for early start of the Reko Diq project.” It may be recalled that the meeting was presided over by Pakistan’s Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.
Earlier, the Supreme Court of Pakistan on Friday termed the agreement between the government of Pakistan and two international companies as legal. The decision was announced by a five members bench of the Supreme Court of the South Asian countries.
Chief Minister Balochistan Abdul Quddus Bizenjo welcomed the apex court’s decision and termed it a historic one. The chief minister said that the decision was an acknowledgment of the provincial government’s efforts for the economic progress of Balochistan.
History of Reko Diq gold mining project
The original deal for the Reko Diq project was inked in 2006. However, the project came to a standstill in 2011 following the provincial government declining to renew Tethyan Copper’s lease, and in 2013 Supreme Court of Pakistan declared it as invalid. The World Bank’s arbitration tribunal committee had imposed a penalty on Pakistan for denial of mining. However, in March, the federal government of Pakistan and the provincial government of Balochistan agreed with two international companies on a framework to reconstitute the Reko Diq project.
