Defence Minister Khawaza Asif provides official data on KP mining licences

Islamabad – Defence Minister Khawaza Asif said on Saturday that none of the more than 500 mining licence applications currently being reviewed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa belong to a military institution. In a post on X, the minister released official figures on the province’s mining licences. He noted that from Pakistan’s independence until 2010 only 482 licences or titles had been issued. The number rose to 1,762 by 2020 during the Pakistan Tehreek‑e‑Insaf (PTI) provincial administrations, reached 3,962 by February 2024 and now stands at 4,917. Of these, 4,133 are in settled districts and 784 are in the merged districts.

Asif also pointed out that the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO), a military engineering body, received just one mining licence in the entire period. That licence was granted in 2015 for the Boya area of North Waziristan, where the FWO was carrying out construction and rehabilitation work.

He wrote: “More than 500 new applications are currently under consideration, none of which is from a military institution.” The minister argued that the data show most mining licences were issued during PTI’s tenure and that the military has had no direct role in the sector apart from the single FWO licence.

The statement comes as Jamiat Ulema‑i‑Islam‑Fazl (JUI‑F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rahman criticised the recent imposition of Governor’s Rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Speaking at the Mufti Mahmood Conference in Multan, Fazl claimed that the emergency rule allowed the federal government to take control of mineral resources in the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), which had previously become part of the province. “The resources of FATA had become part of the province, but by imposing an emergency, you have handed them over to the federation,” he said, adding that the move was intended to seize the region’s mineral wealth and that deals were being negotiated with the United States at the expense of local interests. He warned that China and Russia also had reservations about the developments and cautioned against concentrating excessive power in a single authority, saying it could eventually overwhelm those who wield it.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, speaking on Friday, said a political party leader was displeased about not receiving a share in the new administrative arrangement in KP, including the governorship, after Governor’s Rule was imposed, but did not name the individual.

خِیبر پختونخوا میں معدنیات کے لائسنسز کی حقیقت (سرکاری اعداد و شمار کے مطابق): قیام پاکستان سے 2010 تک خِیبر پختونخوا میں معدنیات کے صرف 482 لائسنس/ٹائٹلز جاری ہوئے تھے۔ پی ٹی آئی کی صوبائی حکومتوں کے دور میں یہ تعداد تیزی سے بڑھی۔ 2020 تک 1,762، فروری 2024 تک 3,962، اور موجودہ وقت میں کل 4,917 مائننگ لائسنسز جاری ہو چکے ہیں۔ ان میں سے 4,133 آباد اضلاع میں اور 784 ضم شدہ اضلاع میں ہیں۔ اس پورے عرصے میں عسکری ادارے FWO کو صرف ایک لائسنس ملا، جو 2015 میں شمالی وزیرستان کے بویا علاقے میں دیا گیا تھا، جہاں FWO تعمیراتی اور بحالی کے کاموں میں مصروف رہا۔ اس وقت 500 سے زائد نئی درخواستیں زیر غور ہیں، جن میں سے کوئی بھی عسکری ادارے کی جانب سے نہیں ہے۔ مختصر یہ کہ معدنیات کے لائسنسز کی بڑی تعداد پی ٹی آئی دورِ حکومت میں جاری ہوئی، جبکہ عسکری اداروں کا اس شعبے میں براہِ مستقیم حصہ سرے سے تھا ہی نہیں۔