Reko Diq: Foreign investors bound to obey laws: CJP Iftikhar
04 December, 2012
ISLAMABAD: Hearing the Reko Diq case, a three-member bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, has observed that foreign companies all over the world are bond to adhere to local laws of a country in trade agreements.
Resuming his arguments, Khalild Anwar, counsel for Tethyan Cooper Company Pakistan (TCCP) contended that his client was legally entitled in the agreement, saying BHP had nothing to do with the lease agreement on Reko Diq mining project after handing it over to the TCCP during 2006.
He pleaded that the government of Balochistan independently confirmed the legal duty and obligation of the Reko Diq project to the TCCP and urged that the company would have all the legal rights and entitlement according to the agreement.
He further submitted that all the allegations made against the Chaghai Hills Exploration Joint Venture Agreement (CHEJVA) and the relaxation of 1970 rules are directed against the BHP instead of the TCCP, which was not even in existence when the relaxation took place on January 20, 1994.
Anwar told the bench that the mineral wealth of the people of the province had not been looted, adding that the mining operation could not be started overnight but efforts had been made to start the exploration.
Citing the apprehension of the former prime minister's son in pursuance of the court orders in the ephedrine case, Khalid Anwar said the court had to go beneath the instant matter in order to ascertain the facts.
Responding to a query of the court, he said that the TCCP had a dispute both with the federal and the provincial governments, adding that he had submitted that he would resume arguments before the bench on the legal status of CHEJVA . The bench adjourned the hearing of the case until today (Tuesday).
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