ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) has fixed for hearing a presidential reference seeking validation for the new Reko Diq project deal under Article 186 of the Constitution, ARY News reported on Wednesday.
According to details, a five-member bench of Supreme Court – headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial – will hear the presidential reference on Reko Diq on October 25.
The five-member bench includes Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijaz-ul-Hassan, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail.
It is pertinent to mention here that President Arif Alvi, on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, filed a reference in the Supreme Court to get validation for the new Reko Diq project deal under Article 186 of the Constitution.
In the reference submitted to the court, President Dr Arif Alvi asked the Supreme Court whether a new deal on the Reko Diq with Barrick Gold Corporation, a Canada-based mining group, was legally safe under the Constitution of Pakistan and international arbitration.
The president also asked the apex court whether the proposed Foreign Investment (Protection and Promotion) Bill 2022 would be a valid law under the Constitution.
Reko Diq is one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper-gold mines. The project is being restarted after remaining on hold since 2011.
In March 2022, the then finance minister Shaukat Tarin announced that an agreement for the development of Reko Diq mine had been reached with a foreign company Barrick Gold, according to which Balochistan will have a 25% share.
Read more: BVI COURT REVERSES REKO DIQ CASE VERDICT, SAVES PIA HOTELS & LITIGATION EXPENSE
Pakistan and Tethyan Copper Company (TCC) have agreed to divide shares with each side getting 50 percent of them, contrary to 25 percent shares for Pakistan in the previous deal.
In 2019, Pakistan managed to get a reduced penalty from a massive $16bn to $6bn in Reko Diq case.
In a 700-page ruling, ICSID awarded a US$4.08 billion penalty and $1.87 bn in interest to Pakistan. The amount will be paid to Tethyan Copper Company (TCC).
Tethyan Copper Company (TCC) had been granted a license for gold and copper mining at RekoDiq, area of Balochistan but the former chief justice of Pakistan Muhammad Chaudhry had cancelled the agreement with the company.
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