Daily Times

The Supreme Court has reserved its opinion regarding the presidential reference on the Reko Diq mining case.

A five-member larger bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, completed the hearing on the matter on Tuesday.

The apex court stated that it will announce its judgment next week.

Before reserving the verdict, the chief justice, during the hearing, said that the president has sought the opinion from legal channels.

“The court will be careful while giving an opinion on the matter of basic rights in the presidential reference,” said CJP Bandial.

He said that Pakistan is facing a fine of a billion dollars, adding that the federal government followed the Constitution and the law concerning the Reko Diq agreement.

CJP Bandial said that he is happy Reko Diq agreement ensured international standard protection. Justice Ijazul Ahsan said that it is a positive factor that no party signed an illegal agreement in the Reko Diq project.

“All the lawyers agree that Reko Diq is a transparent and public contract,” he added.

Meanwhile, the deputy attorney general said that the negotiations on the agreement took place for three years. 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 the advice of the prime minister, the president filed a reference in the SC under Article 186 of the Constitution, requesting the apex court to evaluate two key questions.

The president requested the apex court to decide “whether the earlier judgment of the SC reported as Maulvi Abdul Haque Baloch v. Federation of Pakistan, laws or public policy prevent the government of Pakistan and the government of Balochistan from entering into the Reko Diq Agreements or affect their validity.” The second question posed by president is that “if enacted, would the proposed Foreign Investment (Protection and Promotion) Bill 2022 be valid and constitutional or not”.

Earlier this week, the government urged all stakeholders to complete pending actions hampering the conclusion of the $900 million settlement deal in the Reko Diq case by December 15, as it eyed the SC for an early decision.

The December 15 deadline is sacrosanct to avoid a $5.9 billion penalty in return for a settlement deal with Antofagasta and Barrick Gold in the infamous Reko Diq mining case.

“The finance minister highlighted the importance of the early completion of the remaining steps under the agreed arrangement. He also stressed upon all concerned to ensure that the deadline of December 15 is successfully met and the project is revived the earliest after the settlement,” according to a press statement issued by the Ministry of Finance.

Depending on the SC judgment, the government will get the Investment Protection Bill passed by Parliament. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) will issue a no-objection certificate (NoC) to set up an offshore holding company. The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) on Friday incorporated the Special Purpose Vehicle to give effect to the settlement deal with Barrick Gold.