Mining and other related industries: Panel for adopting uniform policy on use of explosives/dynamites

A parliamentary panel has recommended the government to adopt a uniform policy on the use of explosives/dynamites in mining and other related industries. These recommendations were adopted by the Senate Functional Committee on the Problems of Less Developed Areas which met here on Monday under the chairmanship of Senator Usman Khan Kakar. The meeting was held to take up the issue of explosive licenses in Muslim Bagh area of Balochistan.
While chairing the meeting Usman Khan Kakar said that the in Muslim Bagh, Qilla Saifullah district, only one firm was awarded license for use of explosive for industrial use while authorities have declined to issue licenses to other applicants. He said that the authorities have issued explosive license to the firm working in Muslim Bagh while other people applied for the explosive licenses have not been awarded the licenses.
The panel directed the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Industries and Production to hold a joint meeting on the subject and bring a consensus policy to address this issue. The officials of the Ministry of Interior informed the panel that applications received for explosive licenses would be resolved as per the directions of the panel.
The officials of the Ministry of Industries and Production informed the panel that explosive license is being issued after the firm gets no objection certificate from the Ministry of Interior. The panel directed the authorities concerned to decide the matter of issuance of explosive licenses to those applicants who fulfilling the legal requirements submitted applications for licenses within three days. The committee directed the officials to formulate a viable policy on the issuance of explosive licenses within a month and share it with the committee members.
Member committee Senator Nisar Mohammad Khan said that same complaints are coming from the Federally Administrative Tribal Areas and Malakand Division. Senator Jahanzaib Khan Jamaldeni said Balochistan being a mineral rich province as well as the most backward area of Pakistan needs special attention of the federal government, adding that such complaints must be removed immediately because such complaints are just creating sense of deprivation among the locals.
Senator Azam Khan Musakhail said that the government and other relevant agencies must formulate a comprehensive mechanism to address all complaints of the masses to end sense of deprivation among them.