Coordinator to the Federal Tax Ombudsman Saif-ur-Rehman on Sunday said Pakistan’s vast mineral resources have the potential to attract advanced technologies, diversify exports and generate substantial employment, provided they are managed as long-term national assets through transparent and well-regulated investment policies.
Transparency essential in critical minerals agreements, says FTO coordinator
LAHORE, Aug 09 (APP): Coordinator to the Federal Tax Ombudsman Saif-ur-Rehman on Sunday said Pakistan’s vast mineral resources have the potential to attract advanced technologies, diversify exports and generate substantial employment, provided they are managed as long-term national assets through transparent and well-regulated investment policies.
Talking to a delegation of traders here, he said future agreements involving critical minerals should be subjected to rigorous legal, financial and technical scrutiny, keeping in view past experiences such as the Reko Diq dispute. He stressed that transparency should remain the guiding principle in all mineral sector agreements.
Saif-ur-Rehman said the terms of major mineral contracts, along with their fiscal implications and obligations, should be presented before parliament to ensure transparency and strengthen public confidence. Such openness, he added, would also enhance investor confidence by demonstrating that agreements enjoy political legitimacy and are less vulnerable to future disputes or policy reversals.
He emphasized that local communities must become key stakeholders in mineral development, adding that many of Pakistan’s major mineral deposits are located in underdeveloped regions where residents have long complained that natural resources are extracted without corresponding economic benefits. He said future investment frameworks should ensure employment opportunities, skills development, infrastructure improvement, social investment, and equitable economic benefits for local populations.
Saif-ur-Rehman said that Pakistan should also actively engage Chinese companies, which possess extensive expertise and technological capabilities across the critical minerals value chain, instead of relying solely on American firms. Healthy competition among international investors, he said, could help Pakistan secure better commercial terms, promote technology transfer and maximize value addition in the mineral sector.
