PESHAWAR: Members in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Monday questioned why the much-debated Mines and Minerals Bill, 2025, was not applicable to the merged tribal districts.

During an assembly session chaired by Speaker Babar Saleem Swati here, the lawmakers noted that the province’s largest mine and mineral reserves were located in the tribal districts but the region was excluded from the bill just to enable the federal government to have a direct control over the province’s resources.

Member of the opposition PPP Ahmad Karim Kundi wondered whether the merged districts were not considered part of the province.

He said there was no justification for including the Federal Mineral Wing (FMW) in the Minerals Investment Facilitation Authority (Mifa), which was not part of the Mines and Minerals Act, 2017.

Minister says there’s a possibility of bill withdrawal

Mr Kundi questioned why a federal government representative should dictate the provincial authorities on the matter.

He said that in 2017, MIFA had 15 members but the number was later reduced to just seven.

“Mifa initially had representatives of various associations and civil society, but they’re no longer part of it,” he said, demanding the inclusion of mine owners, their associations and landowners.

The lawmaker requested the chair to refer the question to the relevant house committee.

The chair observed that many members, including stakeholders, had been excluded from MIFA, so the issue should be thoroughly examined by the house committee.

ANP member Arbab Usman said majority of the province’s valuable natural resources were present in tribal districts but the region had been excluded from the bill, effectively giving the indirect control of the local mines and minerals to the federal government.

Law minister Aftab Alam Afridi said that the bill remained controversial despite several clarifications by the government.

He asked lawmakers to go through the proposed law and identify a single point where the federal government was granted authority over the province’s mines and minerals.

The minister said there was a mention of only one member from the Federal Mineral Wing in the proposed Mines and Minerals Bill, 2025, who was co-opted and not a permanent member and could make recommendations and not vote.

“Mifa had 13 members in 2017, which was later amended and reduced to seven only. The fate of the bill will be decided after a meeting with PTI founder Imran Khan,” he said, adding that there was no need to refer the question to a committee, at least at the current stage.

The minister also said there was a possibility of withdrawing the bill and amending the Mines and Minerals Act, 2017.

“Merged areas are exempted to the extent of changes, while revenue can still be collected,” he said.

Mr Kundi appreciated members of the treasury benches for raising voice against the controversial bill and insisted that the question should be deliberated in the relevant house committee.

The question was later referred to the house committee concerned after a vote.

Treasury MPA Abdul Ghani said innocent people were being bombarded in the Tirah Valley of Khyber tribal district, so the chair should seek a report on the casualties.

He said residents of the Akakhel area were told to vacate their homes and leave the area, adding that some villages in the Malak Dinkhel area were also asked to evacuate.

Mr. Ghani warned of holding a sit-in outside the corps commander’s house and Balahisar Fort if residents were forced to leave, adding that people were not willing to abandon their homes.

PML-N member Sobia Shahid said that, according to the industry department, 1,200 industrial units were operational in the province, adding that 218 were closed and work was underway to make 366 units functional.

She said other provinces were growing and developing, but KP had only 1,200 industrial units, and 218 of those were closed.

The chief minister’s special assistant for industries, Abdul Karim Khan, said 129 out of 218 such units were closed due to financial crises, 26 due to electricity issues, five due to court cases, and one each due to security concerns, Covid, withdrawal of SRO 517, shortage of space, and seasonal factors. Five were closed due to customs issues, three due to lack of raw materials, eight due to board of directors’ disputes, four due to poor marketing, and four because of a ban on plastic bags.

Mr Kundi said he had inquired about details of the closed leases of mines and minerals, adding that reopening them could generate 160,000 jobs and increase revenue by one billion rupees. He said his question should be referred to the concerned house committee to determine why the leases were closed.

Mr Afridi said around 600 leases were done away with due to land disputes or explosives-related issues, with the revenue generated totaling over Rs8 billion.

He agreed to the referring of the question to the relevant house committee for consideration and recommendations.

The chair later prorogued the sitting.

Published in Dawn, May 6th, 2025