Federal Minister for Law Azam Nazir Tarar had claimed that the issue surrounding the Reko Diq deal had been resolved with the party head of Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M), however, BNP-M has denied the claims.
BNP-M Vice President Malik Wali Kakar said that their grievances had not been addressed by the federal government. He refuted Azam Tarar’s statement that the issue had been resolved and said the minister’s statement was contrary to the facts.
Similarly, BNP-M President Sardar Akhtar Mengal, while talking to a private news channel, even warned that if the issue was not resolved, the BNP-M might part ways with the PML-N-led coalition government.
Read more: Fine in Reko Diq case a ‘nuclear bomb’: SC judge
Moreover, the BNP-M President who is also the former Chief Minister of Balochistan has summoned a meeting of BNP-M’s core committee to discuss the recent developments and future plan of action.
The Reko Diq issue
Earlier, the Supreme Court declared the new deal between a Canadian firm and the government on the Reko Diq project legal. In its short verdict, the apex court observed that the government had signed the agreement after taking the Balochistan Assembly into confidence and consulting experts.
However, Mr. Mengal and his party opposed the legislation on Reko Diq in the parliament and adopting constitutional resolutions in the Balochistan Assembly, saying that the federal government had not taken the BNP-M into confidence on the bills passed in the Senate and National Assembly.
Today a bill was passed in the NA that all powers of Reko Diq and other resources will be transferred to Federal govt. I have strongly opposed it and am thankful
to JUI and other members who opposed it as well.— Akhtar Mengal (@sakhtarmengal) December 12, 2022
The federal cabinet earlier this week approved funding for the project but coalition partners BNP-M chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) had some concerns regarding it.
After the cabinet meeting, both JUI-F and BNP-M held their separate meetings in which they discussed the option of leaving the alliance if their demands were not met.
Read more: Reko Diq deal gets Supreme Court’s approval
Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Law Senator Azam Nazir Tarrar on Wednesday claimed that the issues related to Reko Diq with BNP-M have been resolved.