ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi on Saturday summoned the National Assembly session on Dec 20, which will apparently pass the bill seeking amendment to the Foreign Investment (Promotion and Protection) Act aimed at pacifying the estranged allies in the ruling coalition.The bill has already been passed by the Senate.

The joint sitting of parliament is also scheduled to be held on Dec 20. Sources, however, said the government might delay it yet again as it had already been delayed many times since its convening in May.

The government had to present the amendment bill seeking to limit the law’s scope to the Reko Diq project in the Senate despite getting it approved last week from both houses of parliament after two of its main allies — the Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) — protested over it and there were reports that the former was even considering an option to quit the eight-month-old coalition.

Section 1(2) of the original bill, bulldozed through parliament on Dec 12 amid protest by members of the BNP-M and JUI-F, said it [the law] “will extend to whole of Pakistan”. Under the amendment passed by the Senate on Friday, after the word “Pakistan”, these lines “but for the purpose of Balochistan province, it shall only apply to the qualified investment of Reko Diq project as mentioned in schedules and annexures of this Act” were added.

BNP-M, JUI-F were unhappy over bill in its original form

The original bill was seen by many as a move aimed at rolling back the 18th Amendment.

On Dec 12, both houses of parliament had passed the bill, paving the way for signing of a settlement deal on the Reko Diq mining project.

As the bill earlier passed by the Senate was about to be introduced in the National Assembly, BNP-M chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal protested over it, saying that since Pakistan came into being, no government considered Balochistan as its part but benefited from its resources.

Rejecting the proposed legislation, he accused the federal government of appeasing foreign powers and capitalists but warned it would fan hatred in Balochistan.

Minister for Housing and Works Maulana Abdul Wasay also opposed the bill, saying it would give complete powers to the Centre to control resources of the province.

The law minister, however, had assured the house that the law would be suitably amended at a later stage. The house then passed the bill as Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf ignored voices that pointed out that the house lacked quorum.

In the Senate also, the bill had not been supported by four members from the treasury benches, including PPP Senator Raza Rabbani.

The bill aims to protect investors from unnecessary court proceedings and other hassles.

In its verdict in the Reko Diq case last week, the Supreme Court had observed that the proposed bill would not only pave the way for the implementation of the Reko Diq project in its present form but would also facilitate and encourage foreign direct investment in similar mining projects and other high capital-intensive industries in which direct foreign investment was required to be encouraged through guarantees given by laws and regulatory measures.

Published in Dawn, December 18th, 2022