ISLAMABAD: It is unprecedented that a consortium of multinational companies has reached an out-of-court settlement with the Pakistan government despite winning the Reko Diq case in international courts. It is a great achievement of Pakistan, especially the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), led by its then Quetta Director Hafeez Siddiqui, which had collected undeniable evidence of corruption in the award of the contract.
Pakistan faced a penalty of $11 billion in the case after the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) ruled in favour of Tethyan & Barrac Gold. However, despite winning the case, the companies opted for an out-of-court settlement because they foresaw the ramifications of an under trial reference in the Quetta NAB court, which contained irrefutable evidence of corruption and corrupt practices by the companies and its directors in individual capacity. In this way, a fiasco turned into a fortune and the NAB attained an unmatched success at the global level. The proactive and highly professional approach of NAB investigation teams, headed by the then NAB Quetta Director Hafeez Siddiqui, having confidence and patronage of all seniors, culminated in the globally unprecedented success of Pakistan and the NAB. NAB’s immaculate investigation and prosecution forced the world’s No.1 gold and copper mining companies to a settlement, which is a 100pc win-win situation for Pakistan. It is also a great gift to the nation from the NAB.
In his Tweet after the settlement of the case, Prime Minister Imran Khan said, “I congratulate the nation and people of Balochistan on the successful agreement with Barrick Gold for development of the Reko Diq mine after 10 years of legal battles and negotiations. The penalty of approximately $11 bn is offset, $10 bn will be invested in Balochistan, creating 8,000 new jobs.” The premier also wrote that Reko Diq would potentially be the largest gold and copper mine in the world. “It will liberate us from crippling debt and usher in a new era of development and prosperity.”
Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin also confirmed that Pakistan had reached an agreement to reconstitute the Reko Diq project. Addressing a hurriedly-called press conference along with Energy Minister Hammad Azhar and Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo in Islamabad, Tarin said over $10 billion would be invested in the province under the project, creating 8,000 new jobs for locals.
In his message, NAB Chairman Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal said, “Today, eradication of corruption has become the voice of the whole nation. The NAB has chalked out a comprehensive anti-corruption strategy comprising awareness, prevention and enforcement under its “Accountability for All” policy, besides overhauling and perfecting working procedures in order to make the NAB a more credible and reputable organisation to eradicate corruption in all its forms and manifestations. The path ahead is extremely thorny and will require extraordinary determination and courage to tackle rampant corruption and misuse of authority, money laundering, assets beyond known sources of income and cheating the public at large in the highest echelons of power. The NAB is committed to upholding the principles of justice, transparency, fair play and merit. National and international organizations like Transparency International Pakistan, World Economic Forum, PILDAT and Mishal Pakistan have not only lauded NAB’s efforts for eradication of corruption but in the Gillani and Gallup Survey about 59pc people expressed their confidence in the NAB.”
