ISLAMABAD — Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Governor Faisal Karim Kundi on Saturday said the provincial government had decided to suspend all gold mining leases, claiming that “90 kilogrammes of gold had been extracted illegally in a single month“. On Wednesday, at least 11 police personnel, including a deputy superintendent of police (DSP) and a sub-inspector, were martyred and 12 others were injured when terrorists ambushed a police party conducting an operation against an illegal gold mining network in Kohat.
According to a statement issued by the office of the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Peshawar, the Kohat police had launched a major operation against an illegal gold mining network allegedly operating through a nexus between terrorists and criminal elements. Addressing a press conference in Peshawar today on the Kohat incident, Kundi, accompanied by the provincial adviser for minerals, chief secretary, and Inspector General of Police Zulfiqar Hameed, announced that a “new policy for gold mining would be introduced within three weeks." KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi says gold mining activities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been suspended and mining licences cancelled. He says illegal mining has caused losses to the national exchequer.@fkkundi #FaisalKarimKundi #KhyberPakhtunkhwa #GoldMining #MiningLicences.
He said contractors involved in gold mining had been directed to “leave the province within a week“, warning that strict action would be taken against them after the deadline. Action against those involved in illegal mining would be intensified. K-P Governor said illegal gold mining in Kohat was linked to terrorism, with 80 per cent of the proceeds going to Afghanistan, and named several politicians whom he accused of being involved in the activity, adding further that the province had completed one month under emergency measures and that maintaining law and order was its top priority.