Attorney General for Pakistan, Anwar Mansoor Khan is in Washington to file revision against International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) award in the Reko Diq case. Before leaving for USA he shared with a section of media, "I am going to Washington to file revision against the ICSID award in Reko Diq." He, however, did not share review petition with them, but insisted that he is going to file the revision against the award.
The sources said that the International Tribunal has been urged to consider the implications of its decision and the impact on development and poverty alleviation. The mineral resources in Reko Diq are the collective resources of the people of Balochistan and Pakistan. The government is keen for development of these resources to ensure that the development needs of some of the poorest people on the planet are addressed.
The World Bank's ICSID on July 13, 2019 announced 700-page judgment regarding $5.976 billion (Rs 944.21 billion) award against Pakistan in the Reko Diq case. The ICSID awarded include $4.08 billion penalty and $1.87 billion interest to Tethyan Copper Company (TCC), a joint venture between Chile's Antofagasta Plc and Canada's Barrick Gold, the Chilean miner.
In 2012, TCC filed claims for international arbitration before the ICSID of the World Bank after the Balochistan government turned down a leasing request from the company. The litigation continued for seven years.
Former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry in Maulana Abdul Haque vs government of Balochistan case held that the 'Chagai Hills Exploration Joint Venture Agreement' (CHEJVA) signed between the Balochistan Development Authority (BDA) and Broken Hill Properties Minerals Intermediate Exploration Inc (BHP) in 1993 was void ab initio.
The CHEJVA granted exploration and mining licenses to BHP in the Reko Diq area, which is located in the Chagai district of Balochistan. Public concern regarding CHEJVA increased in subsequent years as amendments were made to the agreement, leading to the involvement of the Balochistan High Court and the SC in the matter.
The Balochistan High Court validated the agreement, but this ruling was reversed by the SC. Aggrieved by this decision, the foreign companies that were party to the litigation referred the dispute to the ICSID for arbitration, which ruled against Pakistan in 2017.
After the case was filed, Pakistan lost its first jurisdictional challenge, when the international tribunal said that it has the jurisdiction to adjudicate the Reko Diq matter. After that, the tribunal declared that there was no wrongdoing in the agreement - the grounds on which the Supreme Court of Pakistan terminated the deal in 2013 - and eventually, the tribunal held that Pakistan is liable to pay the damages.
The only remaining issue in the case was the final penalty on Pakistan, which has been now announced. The verdict in the Reko Diq case was the first in a series of events that led to the massive award.
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