Ghanche [PoGB], October 26, : Syed Nazar Abbas Kazmi, the President of the Awami Action Committee, has raised critical concerns regarding the protection of local community rights related to mining leases in Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan (PoGB).
He emphasized the urgent need for greater transparency and fairness in the management of mining resources, asserting that local residents should be the primary beneficiaries of the wealth generated from their lands, the Pamir Times reported.
Kazmi specifically addressed a mining lease in Salingh under the name of Rupal Enterprises, which is authorized to extract placer gold.
However, he alleged that other valuable resources are currently being illicitly extracted from the site, with the involvement of a Chinese company and powerful local figures, Pamir Times noted.
He stated, "Today I would like to tell you about a lease in Salingh under the name of Rupal Enterprises. There is a lease to extract placer gold, but something else is being extracted there at the moment. Some powerful people are behind this, and a huge amount of mining resources is being looted."
His statements resonate with a broader movement advocating for sustainable resource management and local governance in PoGB. As the demand for minerals continues to rise, the potential for conflict over land and resources has intensified in the region.
According to the report, Kazmi further criticized the terms of mining leases, noting that while local communities should receive 20 per cent of the revenue, current leases are made under terms that only allocate 6 per cent.
"When a mining lease is taken, the right of the people should be 20 per cent, but a lease has been made on 6 per cent. They do not have the authority to loot other mining resources," he argued.
Kazmi expressed his frustration over the pressures placed on local communities to remain silent about these issues. "We should not be forced to take the names of those people. We should not be compelled to bring the work being done there to the media. This illegal act that is being done, we will stop it through the people."
Earlier in PoGB all the mining contracts in the region are already been poached by China or their sponsored private contractors. This has caused displacement to thousands of residents and resulted in wave after wave of protests.
Kazmi concluded by sending a message to the companies involved and the powerful individuals behind them, "We want to tell those companies and the powerful people behind them that we know everything."
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