By Pervaiz mughal
PESHAWAR: Allegations of political influence and procedural irregularities in the awarding of a key mining lease in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had drawn federal scrutiny, after a Chinese investor formally raised concerns over what it described as a deeply flawed and opaque process.
The complaint prompted intervention from the Special Investment Facilitation Council, which subsequently directed the Auditor General of Pakistan to carry out a special audit and accountability review. At the center of the dispute was Tony Pak, a Chinese company that had first applied for a mining lease in 2013.
According to official records, the firm had been granted initial permission to operate in Chitral, where it extracted and exported minerals during an early phase of activity. However, it was later fined $200,000 for exporting without the required licence, a setback that did not deter its continued pursuit of a formal lease.
Over the following years, the case became entangled in a complex web of legal and administrative delays. Despite a clear directive from the Peshawar High Court in 2024 instructing authorities to resolve the matter within two months, no conclusive decision was reached.
Instead, in March 2026, the General Title Committee approved the lease in favor of another company, a move that appeared to overturn earlier understandings and ignited fresh controversy. The Chinese firm argued that it had invested heavily in the project over more than a decade and questioned how a “ready lease” could be reassigned at such a late stage.
