Over 5 billion dollar penalty imposed on Pakistan in Reko Diq case

An international arbitration court has imposed a penalty of over five billion dollars on Pakistan for unlawful denial of a mining lease to a company for the Reko Diq project in 2011.

The Tethyan Copper Company (TCC) had filed claims for international arbitration before the World Bank's International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in 2012 after the Balochistan government rejected a leasing request from the company.

The company had claimed 11.43 billion dollars in damages. The case between the Pakistan government and the company continued for seven years.

The TCC completed an extensive and detailed bankable feasibility study establishing the basis for mine development at Reko Diq



during August 2010 and submitted a mining lease application in February 2011, along with an environmental and social impact assessment report, the paper said.

The Reko Diq mine is famous for its vast gold and copper reserves.

The project stopped in November 2011, when the Balochistan government summarily rejected the application by the TCC's local operating subsidiary for a mining lease in respect of Reko Diq.

A statement issued by the Pakistan Attorney General's office today said Prime Minister Imran Khan issued orders for the formation of a commission to investigate and fix responsibility for the massive loss borne by the country in the Reko Diq case.