Mines and minerals

Since the good news of minerals worth trillions of dollars was announced, politicians of various hues went into action to oppose the exploration of newfound underground wealth. Politicians of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government have been at the forefront in opposing the mining process in the province. They link the decision to explore and excavate minerals with the consent of Imran Khan. But Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s enthusiastic announcement about the underground mineral wealth is worth mentioning: ‘Trillions of dollars’ in mineral deposits can help Pakistan say goodbye to institutions like the IMF.

The PTI stalwarts presented a strange logic. They equated national wealth, which would likely change the fate of the people of the province and the country, with Imran’s release from prison. His sister was at the forefront in vocalising this decision. Despite facing serious legal cases, Imran is having the best time. He gets choice food at state expense, holds political meetings with his subordinates, and meets his friends and family. What else does he need? No political prisoner in the nation’s history lived in such style and comfort.

KP politicians were never known to oppose government projects to explore and excavate natural wealth, unlike the politicians of Balochistan, who have always defied state-sponsored projects. The Baloch have usually been under the strong influence of Baloch chieftains. But now, the situation is rapidly changing. The previously underprivileged class is becoming educated and aware of its basic rights.

Recall the Reko Diq project in Balochistan. It was then-chief minister Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo who had organised an in-camera briefing for the lawmakers to take them into confidence on the Reko Diq subject. And who else could it be other than Yar Mohammad Rind, then the PTI chief in Balochistan, who called the arrangement a ‘fiasco’. The PTI leadership is now opposing mines and minerals projects in KP. History is repeating itself. The PTI leadership seems to be anti-progress. Is there any major project to show for Imran Khan’s nearly four-year rule?

However, in 2013 the then CJP Iftikhar Chaudhry ordered the cancellation of the Reko Diq project for being non-transparent and primarily in favour of Tethyan Copper Company, an Australian organisation and its Chilean partner company. The Australian company claimed to have invested more than $220 million to import equipment and machinery to carry out the exploration and excavation process according to the agreement. It filed a case in the International Court of Arbitration, which fined Pakistan heavily. Chaudhry Iftikhar hasn’t been heard of much ever since. Reko Diq episode was his last exploit.

Many politically motivated situations have a common reason: class disparity. The rich class of society in politics has its coffers full, while the poor class living below the poverty line wants jobs and two meals a day, education for its children and affordable medical treatment. Whether mines and minerals are a federal or provincial subject would have little consequence for the poor.

Nevertheless, the dissenting political parties are suggested to settle their differences by keeping the plight of the poor in mind. The stark reality is that when children of the rich politicians and bureaucrats go abroad for their education, 26 million poor children remain unschooled, thus illiterate. What would be their future in the country in the years to come, where the rich politicians do not allow the government to dig out the mineral wealth concealed underground?

What’s the point of the prime minister’s proclamation about the country being bestowed with mines and minerals worth trillions of dollars if the nation cannot benefit from them? The misgivings shown by the provincial governments are that the federal government might deprive the provinces of their share of mineral wealth unearthed from their territories. The apprehensions exhibited by the politicians of the provincial governments are premature and baseless, to say the least. It’s time politicians opposing the exploration of mines and minerals give up their attitude and let the government proceed by inviting foreign companies to dig out this huge underground wealth. It would change the economic fate of the country.

The writer is a freelance columnist based in Lahore. He can be reached at: pinecity@gmail.com