QUETTA: The Balochistan High Court on Thursday suspended the implementation of the Mines and Minerals Act until the next hearing and sought a response from the provincial government.

The order was issued by a BHC division bench comprising Chief Justice Muhammad Kamran Khan Mullahkhail and Justice Najmuddin Mengal while hearing a set of petitions filed against the Mines and Minerals Act.

Former senator Mir Lashkari Khan Raisani appeared before the court along with his legal team, including Barrister Muhammad Iqbal Kakar, Advocate Muhammad Riaz Ahmed and Advocate Syed Nazir Agha. Advocate General Adnan Basharat represented the provincial government.

During the hearing, Chief Justice Mullahkhail expressed displeasure over the government’s failure to submit its reply and directed the advocate general to file the response at the next hearing, scheduled for next week. The court ordered that the implementation of the Mines and Minerals Act remain suspended until then.

Directs Balochistan government to submit its response next week

Speaking to the media outside the court, Barrister Kakar said that despite several months having passed, the government had not submitted its reply in the court, reflecting a lack of seriousness.

Lashkari Raisani said they had approached both the court and the public to challenge the Mines and Minerals Act passed by the Balochistan Assembly. He noted that two to three months ago it had been decided that the law would be reviewed afresh, with priority given to the province’s interests, but political parties had since remained silent on the matter.

He added that he and his associates had approached party leaderships and written letters to them regarding the issue. He termed the court’s decision to suspend all allotments under the Mines and Minerals Act until the next hearing a major success.

Published in Dawn, February 28th, 2026