Reko Diq stay order ‘a great relief’: Asim

By News Desk

ISLAMABAD: Members of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s cabinet have termed a World Bank tribunal’s granting of a stay order on the $6 billion penalty against Pakistan in the Reko Diq case “a great relief” and a “big success”.

In July last year, an international arbitration tribunal of the the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) tribunal had slapped nearly six billion dollars penalty on Pakistan for denying a mining lease to an Australian company, Radio Pakistan reported. On Thursday, the ICSID) granted stay on the enforcement of penalty imposed on Pakistan. In a statement in Islamabad, the office of Attorney-General for Pakistan described the development as a success for the country and its legal team.

On Friday, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority Chairman Lt-Gen (retd) Asim Saleem Bajwa said the stay order “is a great relief” and announced Prime Minister Imran Khan has ordered accelerating efforts to develop the minerals sector in Balochistan.

He said the Prime Minister had ordered fully supporting the Balochistan government for accelerating development in mineral sector “in a transparent manner and structured system”. Furthermore, he said the PM also wanted utilisation of best technology, while local investors and local human resource should be involved during the development process.

Foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi also termed the development a “big success” and “major relief to country’s economy, which was under pressure due to Covid-19”.