Govt warned against leasing of minerals to outsiders

CHITRAL: Government has been warned against leasing out Chitral’s minerals to outsiders.

Addressing a press conference after a joint meeting of the LSOs and the stakeholders convened by Chitral Community Development Network, former district nazim Maghfirat Shah, Abdul Ghafar, Colonel (retired) Sardar Mohammad, Qadir Shah, Israruddin and others alleged that the government employed shady ways and means in leasing out the minerals.

They said the local applicants were discouraged by the authorities of mineral department and the lease of important precious minerals was awarded to the non-locals in violation of rules and this creates hear-burning among the locals.

They warned that the obnoxious practice may create a Baluchistan-like situation in Chitral if the local natural resources are made a taboo for the locals. They alleged that on the instance of some of some influential, the provincial government has already leased the important minerals to companies many years ago which did not exist in reality.

As a result of this, they added the minerals go unexplored and it is a pity that the local people applied for the lease they are refused on one pretext or the other. They asked the government to remove the strong reservations of the locals regarding the leasing process adopted by its mineral department which deprives the locals.–Zahiruddin