During the tenure of Pervaiz Elahi in 2007, mineral deposits were discovered in Chiniot district, after which the mining contract was reportedly given to the company of a relative of then Chief Minister Elahi that goes by the name of Earth Resource Private Limited (ERPL). According to experts, the quality of iron ore deposits at Chiniot’s Rajoa area is similar to those excavated in Brazil, Russia and India. Samples of the ore were tested at top laboratories and were confirmed to be of high quality.
The Board of Directors of Punjab Mineral and Development Corporation (PUNJMIN) never approved the signing of the Joint Venture Agreement with ERPL. ERPL was not short-listed and was awarded the contract without any public advertisement or without floating any tenders that makes this agreement illegal. Other than that, the company had no past experience in the exploration, excavation or development of minerals or iron ore and contract was awarded solely on the bases of close acquaintance with the company.
After the 2008 general elections, Shahbaz Sharif was elected as Chief Minister of the Punjab for second time. He was briefed about the mining contract. Shahbaz Sharif initiated legal proceedings to get the contract for Pakistan’s first integrated Iron Ore Mining, Processing and Steel Mills Complex revoked.
The contractors went to the court and demanded stay orders. A legal battle went on for a period of three years. However, in his final verdict about the contract, Lahore High Court Chief Justice Mansoor Ali Shah In 2010 described the award of contract as “a heartless breach of public trust”. Justice Mansoor Ali Shah directed NAB to probe into the matter.
In 2014, the contractors went to the Supreme Court and upon analysing, SC second the verdict of Lahore High Court. NAB didn’t do anything during all this time. NAB is a federal bureau that claims to be tasked with the responsibility of elimination of corruption through awareness, prevention and enforcement. They claim to have focused its functions at detection, investigation and prosecution of crimes made by politicians, public service officials and other citizens who were either guilty of gross abuse of powers, or through corruption had deprived the national exchequer of millions or resorted to other corrupt practices. However, moving against to all its claims, NAB did not bat an eye on the issue even after repeated requests from Shahbaz Sharif.
Considering the sensitivity and importance of the issue, Shahbaz Sharif himself took multiple presentations from globally recognised companies to ensure quality work under the Punjab Mines & Minerals Department.
“Samples of the ore were tested at top laboratories in Canada and Switzerland. The deposits of mapped iron ore in Phase-1 of Chiniot mining project, estimated to be a minimum of $4 billion in value, have been discovered in such a large quantity that can provide raw material to operate steel mill for 33 years.” Government of the Punjab tweeted.
Coming back to National Accountability Bureau, which didn’t do anything until the case was highlighted again by Shahbaz Sharif. Why is that that we have to exert pressure and create outrage to get justice in this country? This has become a norm which is not normal in any way. Every institution needs to consider and play their role they have been assigned. What if no one ever talk about these issues? They will go unnoticed and the corrupt mafia will get away with looting the country and filling their pockets.
Why do we have to blame government for everything? It has become a norm, a culture and a ritual to put blame for every single thing upon the government because, why not? It’s easier to put blame than to correct ourselves. This case shows that not everything is in control of the government. There is a whole process behind things and for justice and transparency in these cases, every institute needs to act unbiased and transparent.
National Accountability Bureau Chairman Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal took notice of the alleged corruption and illegal contract for exploiting iron ore in Chiniot. He has directed the NAB Lahore DG to conduct an inquiry into the matter and submit report. He has also been directed to inquire about the reasons of closing of the inquiry of mineral extraction so that the responsibility could be fixed and action be taken accordingly. It took almost 10 years for making NAB realise how big of corruption case it was given the fact that Shahbaz Sharif repeatedly highlighted the case. Had the case been solved by NAB earlier, the looters of public assets would have been apprehended by now.