ISLAMABAD: Giving its opinion on a presidential reference, the Supreme Court on Friday declared that the settlement agreement between Canadian mining company Barrick Gold and the government of Pakistan in the Reko Diq mining project is “legal”.
The court also declared that in the settlement agreement between the Barrick Gold and the government of Pakistan, no violation of the apex court’s 2013 verdict, which declared the first agreement as ‘void’, was found.
The 13-page verdict, reserved earlier on November 29,2022, was announced by a five-judge larger bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, on a presidential reference that sought the apex court’s opinion on whether a 2013 judgment by the apex court prevented the federal and provincial governments from entering into the implementation agreement afresh.
The verdict stated that the law did not allow agreements on national resources in violation of the Constitution and that provinces could amend laws pertaining to minerals. It has been observed in the verdict that the Balochistan Assembly was briefed on the matter and elected representatives did not raise any objections.
The order said, the agreement met environmental requirements and Barrick Gold Corporation assured that labour rights would be considered during the implementation of the project. It said the Barrick Gold Corporation assured that laws for wages would be abided by and most of the labour force would be recruited from Pakistan. The verdict said that the court was further told that the project would be used for investing in social initiatives and skill development schemes would also be launched under it.
“The foreign investment bill is not exclusively for Barrick Gold. The foreign investment bill is for companies that will invest more than $500 million dollars,” the verdict added. President Dr Arif Alvi, on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, had filed a reference in the Supreme Court, seeking its opinion on the agreement.