NA passes Reko Diq bill amid opposition by BNP, JUIF

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Monday evening passed the Foreign Investment (Promotion and Protection) Bill, 2022 within minutes, which was also adopted by the Senate the same day with regard to Reko Diq, amid strong opposition from the coalition partners of the government—BNP-Mengal and JUIF. 

The Foreign Investment (Promotion and Protection) Bill, 2022, was moved by Law Minister Azam Tarar and strongly opposed by BNP-Mengal Chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal and Federal Minister for Housing and Works Abdul Wasey belonging to the JUIF on the grounds that it was being adopted without taking allies into confidence and also against the 18th Amendment of the Constitution while from the opposition, Maulana Akbar Chitrali of Jamat-e-Islami also opposed the legislation.

Maulana Akbar Chitrali said that important legislation was being made illegally and also in haste as 87 members were not present in the House. However, Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf did not agree with Akbar Chitrali. Opposing the bill in the National Assembly, Chief of BNP-Mengal Sardar Akhtar Mengal said there had never been a government in the country which did not plunder the resources of Balochistan. “The resources of Balochistan have been treated as a booty,” he claimed. He said the people of Balochistan had been treated like orphans and the youth of Balochistan were being raised because of the resources. He said Balochistan’s coast should also belong to the province. “Legislation should have been made by taking all parties into confidence,” he added.

He regretted that the PPP, which claimed the credit for the 18th Amendment, had surrendered. “Legislation is made overnight for their own interests. Through such legislation one could satisfy foreign Investors but not people of Balochistan. I oppose the bill,” he added.

Federal Minister for Housing and Works Maulana Abdul Wasey also opposed the bill on the grounds that coalition partners had not been taken into confidence and claimed the federation was snatching the rights of Balochistan. He said the case of Reko Diq was not so straightforward as the Balochistan government had filed the case in the Supreme Court and won. He said the company had gone to the international court where the government and the company colluded. In a move to remove the perception of the coalition partners, Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazir Tarar said it was the priority of the Prime Minister that Balochistan should get maximum benefit from the Reko Diq project.

He said Balochistan was going to get $35 to 40 billion in thirty years. With regard to the Riko Diq project, he said the companies had sought guarantees in the form of legislation so that the project was not affected. He assured the House that the government did not want to harm the interests of Balochistan and the bill should be passed without any amendment.

The minister said there was a condition that the federation of Pakistan should guarantee the project so that no harm would be done. “This law will only apply to Reko Diq and I am giving every statement as directed by the Prime Minister. We did not ignore the leadership of Balochistan,” he added.

Tarar said the bill must pass without an amendment today to secure the deal. He said Senate had approved the Reko Diq Bill and after passing in the Senate, it was brought to the National Assembly as it was in the interest of Balochistan.

He said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had assured that the rights of the people of Balochistan would be fully protected and the federal government was not violating the 18th Amendment. “I along with Federal Minister of Finance Ishaq Dar and Federal Minister Ayaz Sadiq have met with the coalition parties and tried to remove their concerns,” he said.

Earlier, the Foreign Investment (Promotion and Protection) Bill, 2022, was introduced and passed in the Senate on the opening day of the new session amid noisy protests by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senators for production orders for lawmaker Azam Swati.

Initially, the chairman promised to issue Swati’s production orders and give floor to the opposition members but insisted they should first let the bill concerning also the Reko Diq project, be taken up, being so crucial to the country, Balochistan and his district. Then, ignoring the opposition legislators’ protest in front of his dais and sloganeering before the treasury benches, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani allowed Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar to introduce the bill as a supplementary agenda, and then move a motion to take up the proposed piece of legislation for consideration at once. The minister also briefly spoke as to how important the legislation was for the country.

The opposition lawmakers at first protested in their seats and then moved forward close to the chairman’s dais while some of them gathered in front of the government benches and shouted slogans for production orders for their colleague Senator Azam Swati and opposed moving of the bill in the House.

The chairman asked the security staff to move closer to the protesting senators to maintaining order. It was a private members day, Leader of Opposition Dr. Shahzad Waseem rose to speak but the law minister was given the floor, who first moved a condolence resolution for late PML-N Senate.