QUETTA: A local tribe in the Chagai district while claiming right to the Reko Diq area of gold and copper reserves has said the government signed an agreement with the Canadian company, Barrick Gold Corporation, without taking them into confidence.

“We have original documents to prove Reko Diq and other areas of Chagai district belong to the Badozai tribe and its sub-clans Lehjai, Naroi, and Dakugi, but the government has completely ignored the representatives of the the local tribes,” said Sardar Aliyar Khan Badozai while addressing a press conference along with Sardar Raza Mohammad Naroi, Sardar Madd Khan Dakugi and others on Saturday.

Reko Diq was the guarantor of the bright future of coming generations, he said, adding that the project would now be used for the destruction of generations.

“The agreement between the government concerned and the Barrick Gold Company is not acceptable under any circumstances, as the Reko Diq agreement is tantamount to pushing our generations into darkness with illegal, illegitimate practices,” Sardar Badozai said.

In the international agreement, he said, the federal and provincial government completely ignored the real land owners and favoured the corrupt and commission-seeking people. Terming it an ‘illegal’ agreement, the tribal elder said the ‘hidden, unpopular’ agreement of the government with the Barrick Gold Company was unacceptable without consultation of the real owners.

Claims to possess centuries-old documents to prove land ownership

“We have centuries-old certificates and documents of Reko Diq and the golden land of Chagai in certified form, which is enough to present and challenge at the national and international level when necessary,” Sardar Badozai said, adding that no one had any justification or answer for rejection of their pleas.

In response to a question, he said if their demands were not accepted, they would be forced to block the national highways.

Published in Dawn, March 5th, 2023