KP Governor Suspends Gold Mining, Cancels Leases to Curb Illegal Operations

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi has suspended all gold mining in the province and announced the cancellation of all gold mining leases. The decision, announced at a press conference in Peshawar on Saturday, is part of a crackdown on illegal mining, which the governor said was funding terrorism.

Kundi ordered leaseholders and contractors to remove heavy machinery from mining areas within a week, warning that any machinery left after that would be seized. He also said fines would now be imposed in line with the law, replacing the small penalties of Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 30,000 that magistrates had been charging.

The governor highlighted the scale of illegal mining in Kohat’s Blocks C and D, where he said some 8,350 trucks, 3,660 excavators, 1,600 dumpers and around 50,000 labourers were involved, with about 90 kilograms of gold extracted every month. He claimed that 80 percent of the profits were sent to Afghanistan and used for terrorism.

The move follows an attack in Kohat in which a DSP and 10 police personnel were martyred while returning from an operation against illegal mining. Kundi named 12 politicians as allegedly backing illegal mining. He also announced a judicial commission headed by a retired Peshawar High Court judge and a task force named after martyred DSP Haider Zaman to draft a new mining strategy within three weeks.

The ban comes after Kundi invited foreign companies for mineral joint ventures in October and repeated the pitch at the Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum in Islamabad on Thursday, promising investors a one-window facility. The suspension of leases may raise concerns among investors, but the governor emphasized that the crackdown is aimed at illegal operations, not legitimate businesses.