Senate Standing Committee on Petroleum & Natural Resources, while expressing its serious concerns over five years extension to the agreement on Sandik copper project to China, has decided to test the minerals of Sandik mines of Balochistan from international laboratory.

The Senate body meeting was held here under the chairmanship of Muhammad Yusuf. Officials of petroleum ministry, while giving briefing, informed the Senate body that a five years extension has been given to the agreement on Sandik copper gold project earlier inked with China. And,

this extension has been granted with the approval of federal government and provincial government of Balochistan which was termed criminal act by a Senator Mustafa Kamal while chairman committee said exploitation with Balochistan is continuing.Senator Rubina Irfan criticized the policy of government over spending Rs 37 billion in the constituency of premier at the cost of Aghaz-e-Haqook package and people of the province.Senator Abdul Ghani Bangash blamed that influential people made billions of rupees through heavy corruption in the project.

Feeling the heat of member’s concern and gravity of the matter, the senate body, to know the actual number of minerals present in the copper of Sandik, has decided to test the copper from a Britain based laboratory.Chairman committee expressed his concerns on Sandik project and said nobody knows what sort of minerals are being extracted while Chinese company has so far invested $23 million. Razak Sanjani, MD Sandik Copper Company,

informed the senate body that federal government has invested Rs 27 billion in Sandik copper project for infrastructure, machinery, plant etc.Senator Jahangir Badar present on the occasion said no country in past expressed its willingness to invest in the project due to which government of Pakistan in 1974 requested China and only then this project commenced and work on commercial basis is continuing since 2003.

Secretary Petroleum told the Senate Standing Committee on Petroleum & Natural Resources that there are huge reserves of oil and gas in Tull block and companies are working on the exploration of oil and gas. Production will witness increase due to new petroleum policy, he added.