QUETTA: The Balochistan chief of the JUI-F and MNA Maulana Abdul Wasay on Wednesday expressed serious concern over the verdict of a World Bank court in the Reko Diq case penalising Pakistan to pay $5.9 billion in fine to the Tethyan Copper Company (TCC) for scrapping its mining contract in Balochistan, and said that the judgement was not acceptable to his party.

Speaking at a press conference here on Wednesday, the JUI-F leader claimed that Pakistan had won the case during the coalition government, headed by Nawab Aslam Raisani.

He said that an inquiry should be conducted to ascertain why Pakistan lost the case at the World Bank court.

“The people responsible for losing the case should be brought to justice,” the JUI-F leader said.

He said the JUI-F was the part of the Raisani-led coalition government which had sought 25 per cent share of Balochistan in the Reko Diq copper and gold mining project.

He claimed that at that time the provincial government had been ousted for defending the Reko Diq issue and blamed successive provincial governments for their failure to defend the case.

He said the Raisani-led coalition government had cancelled the Reko Diq agreement in the larger interest of the people of Balochistan as the cancellation of the project was in the interest of the province.

“The cancellation of the Reko Diq agreement led to ousting of our government in Balochistan,” Maulana Wasay said. He bitterly criticised the PTI government and said it had failed to run the affairs of the country.

He rejected NAB’s claim of the possibility of arrest of Maulana Fazlur Rehman and said that any such attempt would not succeed as Maulana Fazlur Rehman had himself challenged NAB to arrest him.

Published in Dawn, July 18th, 2019