Reko Diq agreement: President Arif Alvi files reference in Supreme Court

• President moves SC to seek its opinion on Reko Diq agreement.
• Agreement was reached in March 2022.
• Pakistan and TCC had agreed to divide shares equally. 

ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi, on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, filed a reference in the Supreme Court in the Reko Diq case on Tuesday.

The reference will seek the opinion of the apex court on the settlement agreement on Reko Diq.

Earlier, the federal cabinet approved sending a presidential reference on the Reko Diq case to the Supreme Court.

In March 2022, the-then finance minister Shaukat Tarin announced that an agreement for the development of the Reko Diq mine had been reached with a foreign company Barrick Gold, according to which Balochistan would have a 25% share.

Pakistan and Tethyan Copper Company (TCC) had agreed to divide shares with each side getting 50% of them, contrary to 25% shares for Pakistan in the previous deal.

In 2019, Pakistan managed to get a reduced penalty from a massive $16 billion to $6 billion in the Reko Diq case. In a 700-page ruling, the Washington-based International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) awarded a $4.08 billion penalty and $1.87 billion in interest to Pakistan. The amount will be paid to TCC.

The firm had been granted a licence for gold and copper mining at Reko Diq, area of Balochistan, but the former chief justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Chaudhry had cancelled the agreement with the company.