Bid to deprive Chitral of its mineral resources

CHITRAL: President Chitral Miners Association Col (rtd) Sardar who has also been designated as Member Mining Committee by All Parties Chitral including PPP, PPP Sherpao, JI, JUI, ANP, PMLQ and PML-N through a press conference on 9th August appealed to the KP Minister of Mines Mehmoodzeb Khan to cancel the plan of auctioning Chitral’s mines a move that is fraught with unforeseen dangers.
It is implausible that 40% of Chitral is being put under the hammer after an earlier cancellation of exploration licenses of two bogus Pakistan origin firms registered in Australia and the US. After lapse of eight inactive years with no exploration and not a single penny invested by companies such as Central Exchange a new game plan is being devised by DG Mines to auction thousands of square kilometers of Chitral to outside parties at the expense of locals. The move is both unprecedented and mind boggling. By nature, Chitral's mineral deposits are fragmented and exist in small pockets and are not the world class types as is the case with Baluchistan or Waziristan. The self styled investment savvy bureaucrats seem to overlook the mess the “highest bidder gets all policy” will create in an otherwise peaceful area. Instead of redressing local grievances another conspiracy is being hatched to push local residents to the wall.
If the true motive behind the DG Mines' auction plan was to attract foreign investment or earning revenues for the government, then, an excellent and most practical and sustainable model already exists in Chitral where local Lease Holders have teamed up with several Chinese and Korean parties who are running successful operations there. Besides protection of both the stakeholders’ rights, this model also ensures steady revenue and cash streams for the government. This indeed is the only sure fire guarantee that the foreign parties are themselves actively encouraging to strengthen local stakes as a safety valve before arriving at an investment decision in Chitral.
It appears a holistic approach involving long term investment stability, unimpeded sustainability of operations and socio economic cohesion are not a priority for those at the helm of affairs at faraway Peshawar as they pay scant attention to the grey areas of investment. Their callous emphasis is on short cuts where an auction leads to the highest bidder collecting the booty but that policy is silent on the need for long term continuity considered a prerequisite for success the world over. Local rights denied will lead to further disillusionment of Chitralis and create a tsunami that will wipe out any traces of the shortsighted day dreamers and would-be outside investors. Long term and inclusive economic stability is being sacrificed for short term exclusive gains and an otherwise peaceful people are being instigated to resort to violence.
Smart Chinese and Koreans are eagerly approaching Chitral based parties as they learned bitter lessons in Baluchistan where misguided policies pursued by successive governments ignored local stakeholders which backfired and forced investors to run for their lives and flee. Accounting for 20% of KP's landmass and guaranteeing unparalled peace, Chitral also remains a crucial test case for the provincial government's policy of attracting investment. After a decade of lost opportunities, the new game plan calls for auctioning the areas to the highest bidders under the pretext of the open competition when local miners have already applied in the same areas. One hopes that the ill advised policy makers stop the cruel joke with the locals by pushing remote Chitral to a point of no return.
If mishandled, this could become a major flash point pitting Chitral's residents against the vested interests eying a share of the its mineral pie while sitting faraway in cozy drawing rooms of Peshawar. Proactive handling by the KP Minister of Mines can amicably resolve this issue that is fast spiraling out of control as politicians from all shades of opinion in Chitral have joined common cause to defend locals’ rights.—Zar Alam Khan