SHANGLA: Leaders from various political parties, mining associations, and the Shangla Bar Council jointly opposed the proposed Mines and Minerals Bill during a press conference at the Shangla Press Club on Monday.
They declared that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s mineral resources are constitutional and public assets that belong to the local population, and vowed not to allow any entity to seize control of them. The speakers pledged to resist the legislation at all costs and demanded its immediate withdrawal, asserting that only the people of the province have the rightful claim over its resources.
Among those present were leaders of the Shangla Miners Owners Association—Badshah Hussain, Israr Ahmed, Zaid Hussain, and Niaz Wali—along with contractor Ism Khan and former senator and religious scholar Maulana Rahat Hussain.
Political figures addressing the press conference included Sultan-e-Rom Khan, Advocate of the Awami National Party, Fida Muhammad Khan, an Advocate from Jamaat-e-Islami, and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Muhammad Iqbal Khan, an Advocate. Several contractors and representatives from labour organisations also participated.
Prior to the press conference, protesters gathered at Alpuri Chowk, where labourers, contractors, leaseholders, and mine owners expressed strong opposition to the bill and forest mapping decisions. They later marched to the press club, carrying banners with slogans rejecting the Mines and Minerals Bill and government policies.
The participants made it clear they would never accept federal control over their natural resources. They stated that mine owners, leaseholders, and contractors unanimously opposed the bill and accused the provincial government of willingly ceding its authority to the federal government.
They also criticised the inclusion of mineral-rich areas in forest zones, calling it a conspiracy that would eliminate local employment opportunities. Speakers labelled the bill as controversial and warned that if it wasn’t withdrawn, they would resort to all possible means of protest.
The Forest Department’s mapping process came under fire, with claims that entire villages and mineral-rich zones were being designated as forest areas despite existing leases. The speakers called the move unjust and demanded its immediate reversal.
They lamented that Shangla has consistently faced injustice in matters related to electricity, forests, and minerals, and said the local population has never truly benefited from the royalties of its own resources.
In a unanimously passed resolution, the protesters called on both the provincial and federal governments to withdraw the proposed Mines and Minerals Bill, exclude all mineral zones from the newly issued forest maps, and clear all pending mineral-related cases in the Forest Department to ensure local employment.
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