ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Friday observed the government made no efforts to clarify the position of BHP which had already sold its share to Tethyan Copper Company- Australia (TCCA).
A three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, was hearing an application filed by Raza Kazim, on behalf of Maulana Abdul Haque Baloch, former MPA and MNA of Jammat-e-Islami, under Order V, Rule 2(8) read with Order XXXIII, Rule 6, of the Supreme Court of Pakistan Rules, 1980, for permission to add additional grounds and documents to the record regarding leasing of Reko Diq gold and copper mines in Balochistan to foreign exploration and mining companies in violation of the law.
Raza Kazim argued that Chagai Hill Exploration Joint Venture Agreement (CHEJVA) was tainted with corruption and void abnitio, adding the agreement was for a limited purpose, signed in 1993, for the exploration purpose.
He said the treaty was between Pakistan and Australian government, but the TCCA was only an investment company, and not the party. He said the Foreign Office should not have given a 40-page reply in response to the Australian high commissioner’s statement.
Raza Kazim prayed to the court to exercise its full constitutional authority to decide and define Pakistan’s sovereignty to give practical and conclusive effect to its decisions in the case.
In his remarks, Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry said the issue would have to be taken to its logical conclusion and inquired how the agreements were transferred.
During the proceedings, Balochistan Advocate-General Amanullah Kanrani said the international arbitration forum had clearly asked as to who would compensate the loss incurred by the Balochistan government in case the agreement was terminated. The chief justice said if the agreement was transparent, the Tethyan Copper Company (TCC) could not claim its right in the matter. He said Pakistan was a sovereign country and was capable of defending its law.
The chief justice said the court wanted to have a satisfactory explanation how Tethyan Company was given mining rights in Pakistan, adding the government was responsible for any loss if caused by the arbitration.
The chief justice directed the learned counsel to argue on the legal status of the contract on the next hearing, besides giving legal justification for transfer of the agreement from BHP to Tethyan Pakistan.
Advocate General Amanullah Kanrani said no one represented the TCCA before the Supreme Court, but TCCA became the party in the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and not the BHP.
The case was adjourned till Monday.