Rind welcomes PM Khan’s move of forming probe commission in Reko Diq case

QUETTA: Parliamentary Leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Sardar Yar Muhammad Rind has welcomed Prime Minister Imran Khan’s decision to investigate and fix responsibility for the massive loss borne by Pakistan in the Reko Diq case, reported ARY News on Monday.

Rind urged the prime minister to include representatives from Balochistan in the investigation commission and it should be given a time frame to complete the investigation.

He said the Reko Diq conflict was not handled properly in the past governments. “The responsible should be given exemplary punishment in the light of the commission’s findings”, he maintained.

The prime minister has directed the formation of a commission to investigate into the reasons as to how Pakistan ended up in this predicament; who were responsible for making the country suffer such a loss and what are the lessons learnt, so that mistakes made are not repeated in the future.

The International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) imposed a penalty of 5.8bn on Pakistan in the Reko Diq case.

In a 700-page ruling, ICSID awarded $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 god and copper mining at RekoDiq, area of Balochistan but the former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had canceled the agreement with the company.

The company had filed a lawsuit against Pakistan at ICSID, claiming S11.43bn in damages in 2012. Sources privy to the matter said that Pakistan will soon challenge the verdict.