Judicial intervention not negative for foreign investment: Justice Ramday

Supreme Court of Pakistan. — Photo by AP ISLAMABAD: During a hearing of the Reko Diq case in the Supreme Court on Tuesday, Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday said the court’s intervention will not have a negative impact on foreign investment in the country. The apex court heard a number of petitions challenging the award of the contract to the Tethyan Copper Company (TCC) – a Canadian consortium of Barrick Gold and Antofagasta Minerals – for exploring gold and copper in Reko Diq, a small desert town in Chagai district of Balochistan. Foreign companies should understand that the judiciary in Pakistan is independent and therefore they can consider themselves safer in this situation, Justice Ramday remarked. He further said that the Reko Diq contract was signed when a caretaker government was in place, adding that it appeared that the contract was finalised in a day. The hearing into the case was adjourned until Wednesday.