KARACHI: Hundreds of children from different religious seminaries in the Pakistan portside city of Karachi took to Shara-e-Faisal — the city’s main thoroughfare — not to block it but to protest against the killing of children in the Afghan airstrikes in Kunduz province of Afghanistan.
In the past, protests from seminary students mostly turned violent, but not on Saturday’s protest.
“The kids sit on the greenbelt with the Qu’ran and placards, showing that violence can be condemned without resorting to violence and blocking traffic, which faces people with extreme hardship and stress,” Pir Mazhar Shah, one of the organizers, told Arab News.
“No public gathering, no speech ... A Qu’ranic chain of students,” reads one placard, informing the demo was from Tulaba-e-Madaris Deeniah (students of religious schools).
Last Tuesday, dozens of children were killed and more than 100 wounded in an Afghan airstrike on a religious school in Kunduz.
Hundreds of ‘madrasa’ students in silent protest against Kunduz attack
Hundreds of ‘madrasa’ students in silent protest against Kunduz attack
Pakistan increases Reko Diq investment to $244 million as Barrick reviews project
- State-owned PPL injects $50.2 million more in special purpose vehicle formed to manage Islamabad’s 25 percent stake in copper-gold mine
- Canadian operator Barrick Mining Corporation this month ordered project’s review following deadly separatist attacks in Balochistan province
KARACHI: The state-run Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) has invested an additional Rs14 billion ($50.2 million) equity in the multi-billion-dollar Reko Diq copper-gold mine, the company said in its latest financial report on Thursday, as the project’s Canadian operator reviews the project following recently deadly attacks.
Canada’s Barrick Mining Corporation owns a 50 percent share in Reko Diq in the southwestern Balochistan province, along with three Pakistani federal state-owned enterprises including PPL that own 25 percent, while the Balochistan government has the remaining 25 percent share in the project.
The Canadian company announced earlier this month it planned to “immediately” begin a comprehensive review of all aspects of the Reko Diq project following coordinated attacks in Balochistan on Jan. 30-31 that killed 36 civilians and 22 security forces personnel.
“With respect to the Reko Diq project, the company has made further equity investment in Pakistan Minerals Private Limited (PMPL) during the period amounting to Rs14,025 million ($50.2m),” PPL told its shareholders in its financial statement for the half year ending at Dec. 31.
The additional equity has increased PPL’s total cost of investment in the PMPL to Rs68.1 billion ($243.6 million), it added.
The PMPL is a special purpose vehicle formed to manage the federal government’s 25 percent stake in the Reko Diq project. It is a consortium of three state-owned enterprises (SOEs) namely the PPL, the Oil & Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) and Government Holdings (Private) Limited (GHPL) which is responsible for handling financing, equity contributions and strategic, legal or technical dealings with partners like Barrick.
“The project continued to advance site works during the period (July-December FY26),” the PPL said. “The operator (Barrick) is undertaking a review of all aspects of the project, including with respect to the project’s security arrangements, development timetable and capital budget.”
This week, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti assured investors that Pakistan has the “capacity and capability” to secure the Reko Diq project amid surging militancy.
The PPL explores, drills, and produces oil and natural gas. Its current portfolio, together with its subsidiaries and associates, consists of 47 exploratory blocks that include one offshore Block-5 in Abu Dhabi and one onshore block in Yemen.
In December, PPL signed a strategic Deed of Assignment under which it assigned 25 percent of its participating interest (PI) and operatorship of Eastern Offshore Indus C block to Turkish Petroleum Overseas Company, a unit of state-owned Türkiye Petrolleri Anonim Ortaklığı.
Assigning 20 percent PI each to OGDCL and Mari Energies Limited, the company has retained the remaining 35 percent PI to play a key role in the block’s development.
