KP govt will not pass minerals bill till Imran Khan is released: Salman Raja

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Secretary General Salman Akram Raja on Monday claimed that the Mines and Minerals Bill 2025 will not move forward in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly until former prime minister Imran Khan is released from prison.

Speaking on a private media channel, Raja said, “The bill has been debated, and there is a consensus within the party that it will not be passed unless Imran Khan is freed.”

He emphasised that the Mines and Minerals Bill 2017 is still in effect in KP, and work will continue according to it. “This is not the time for any fundamental change in the country,” Raja said.

Stressing the need to clarify the policy regarding minerals in the future, he said, “Two types of policy regarding minerals exist in the world: one is to dig out the rocks and ship them; the other is to refine the rocks and extract the mineral content. On the basis of that, establish the industry in the country.”

The Secretary General further stated that the party would present its own vision for the bill, emphasising that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is “constitutionally autonomous; we are not under the federal government.”

The Mines and Minerals Bill 2025 was tabled on March 4 in the KP Assembly after being approved by the provincial cabinet in February.

PTI has been divided over the bill. Previously, a heated debate reportedly took place between KP Chief Minister (CM) Ali Amin Gandapur and PTI Peshawar Region President Atif Khan in the PTI parliamentarians’ WhatsApp group.

Media reports claim that the disagreement began when Atif Khan advised PTI Members of the Provincial Assembly (MPAs) in the group not to vote in favour of the bill, declaring it “against the interests of the people of KP.”

In response, Gandapur directly addressed Atif, asking, “Have you even read the bill? If you do not understand English, I will send you a copy in the Urdu version.”

Earlier, CM Gandapur, in a video statement, firmly rejected claims that the bill’s amendments were aimed at surrendering provincial authority to any other entity.

“The powers of the province cannot and will not be surrendered,” he said, adding that such claims were false, fabricated, and “appeared to be driven by personal vendettas.”

The KP CM further said that the proposed amendments were part of his government’s broader reform agenda aimed at enhancing transparency and efficiency in the minerals sector. “Vested interests are misrepresenting these reforms for their own benefit,” he added.