Mines and minerals bill aims to loot KP’s resources: Iftikhar Hussain

PESHAWAR/ISLAMABAD: Awami National Party (ANP) senior leader Mian Iftikhar Hussain has said that the “Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mines and Minerals Act, 2025” is an illegal attempt to seize provincial resources, which blatantly violates the 18th Constitutional Amendment.

He said that the bill was sent from the federal government to the provinces three times, yet no one was informed about it. Surprisingly, he claimed, two American consultants were involved in drafting the bill and it was drafted based on their advice.

Iftikhar Hussain chaired a meeting at Bacha Khan Centre ahead of a planned a protest movement against the KP Mines and Minerals Bill.

ANP’s district presidents and general secretaries from across the province attended the meeting.

Iftikhar Hussain said that the constitution has lost its significance, and powerful quarters are imposing decisions based on their will rather. He claimed that the United States did not want the illegal transportation of minerals, so they advised the relevant quarters to acquire this right legally from the provinces.

“This led to the drafting of the controversial bill. While the bill was quietly passed in other provinces, it faced strong resistance in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” he said.

Iftikhar Hussain said that the ANP’s legal team has thoroughly reviewed the bill and has found it to be unconstitutional and a systematic conspiracy to loot the province’s resources.

He urged all political parties to unite in a joint struggle against the draft bill.

“We will never accept this black law; it is even more dangerous than the Kalabagh Dam,” he said.

He announced that a strong public movement against the draft bill will continue, and the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be taken into confidence to raise their voice on every front for the protection of their resources.

During the meeting, it was deliberated to launch a strong province-wide protest movement against the potential impact of the bill against the public interest.

It was decided to thrash out a joint strategy before launching the movement.

The meeting reaffirmed the commitment to raise voices at all levels for the protection of people’s rights and against unjust legislation.

It was resolved that anti-people actions such as the mines and minerals mill would not be accepted under any circumstances.