Peshawar: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly recently declared all mines and minerals located in the ex-FATA region to be the properties of the provincial government, according to a news source. This legislation was enacted under Rule 82 of the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Procedure and Conduct of Business Rules, 1988.
Mine and Minerals Minister Dr Amjad Ali Khan introduced this bill – titled the ‘Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minerals Sector Governance (Amendment) Bill, 2019’ – and initiated a motion to pass the resolution for this law.
Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sultan Muhammad Khan deemed this bill necessary for the resolution of disputes between various parties over the existing resources in the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), now part of KP. Khan stated that all stakeholders had been taken into confidence, and there had been a detailed consultation with them.
The region is rich in mineral resources such as copper, gold, marble, chromites, soapstone, oil, and gas. Previously, the extraction of these resources was overseen by tribes; with the government acting as a facilitator between them and the leaseholders. These mines had been sold to the leaseholders, with NOCs for mineral exploration in certain areas. Now, they are owned by the government, which plans to issue relevant permissions and leases for various mineral exploration projects.
