PESHAWAR: The opposition Awami National Party (ANP) on Monday boycotted a briefing on the controversial Mines and Minerals Bill, 2025, insisting that the draftlegislation, sentin by the federal government, is an attack on the 18th Constitutional Amendment and the province`s autonomy.

The meeting, the second of its kind in a week`s time, was held in the provincial assembly`s Jirga Hall, with Speaker of the assembly Babar Saleem Swati in the chair. Participants included members from the ruling Pakistan Tehreeki-Insaf and opposition parties, officials of the mines and minerals department, experts, civil society activists and people from other walks of life.

Officials highlighted salient features of the bill and compared it with the mines and minerals law passed in 2017.

`We have a clear stand on the bill.

We`re here just to declare we totally reject it because it is an attack on the 18th Constitutional Amendment and our province`s autonomy,` ANP lawmaker Mohammad Nisar Baaz told Dawn.

Mr Baz, who boycotted the meeting after sharing his party`s viewpoint with participants, said around 120 objections were raised by lawmakers, includ-ing the ruling PTPs, about the bill but Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur `bulldozed` them all in the cabinet meeting.

He claimed that the proposed law was drafted by the Special Investment Facilitation Council before being shared with the provincial government.

The ANP leader added that the mines and minerals department also raised 76 objections to the bill, while 44 objections came in from the mines and minerals association.

`They [the provincial government] say the bill will be discussed with [PTI founder] Imran Khan before they decide about it. I wonder whether they discussed any other bills with Imran Khan in the recent past before getting them passed from the assembly,` he said.

Mr Baz also said if some PTI members were agitating against the bill, why their cabinet members would approve it.

He said it appeared that the PTI was using the bill to seek relief for its imprisoned leader.

The ANP lawmaker said his party had withdrawn its proposed amendments to the bill. He said that the ANP had called for a multi-party conference on the controversialbilltoday [Tuesday] and won`t allow any bargaining on the province`s natural resources.

After the briefing, law minister Aftab Alam Afridi told reporters that some YouTubers and social media influencers were exaggerating things about the proposed legislation, misleading people.

He said the cabinet or the chief minister won`t give away their powers aboutthe province`s mines and minerals to the centre.

The minister said the federal government could send recommendations about a provincial subject but the final decision about them would be taken by the KP government only.

`I want to make one thing clear that our government and assembly will never make any compromise on our province`s interests,` he said.

Mr Afridi said the bill was refined by the chief minister, while the cabinet also gave recommendations, which were honoured by the government.

He said that the bills came to the house after going through various procedures. `Only finest drafts are tabled in the assembly. If any of them is not acceptable to members, it is rejected, he said.

The minister said there was `space for improvement` in the bill, so lawmakers could suggest amendments.

He said the PTI believed in democracy and could never go against people`s opinion on any matter.

Mr Afridi said the ruling party`s workers demanded consultation with Imran Khan and that would happen.

`Imran Khan is our leader and he has already rejected several offers for relief. This [linking the passage of the Mines and Minerals Bill, 2025, with relief for the imprisoned PTI leader] is something too small compared to his resolve,` he said.

The minister said the original and current bills underwent thorough discussion.

He said the chief minister would brief Imran Khan on the bill, with the party`s political committee alsoexplaining the proposed law`s salient features to the PTI chief. He quoted the speaker as declaring that the bill would be brought to the house for consideration only if Imran Khan`s nod.

Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition in the KP Assembly Dr Ibadullah told reporters that the Mines and Minerals Act, 2017, was made by men, so it could have mistakes. He said if the Mines and Minerals Bill, 2025, was against the province`s interests, it would be discussed with the prime minister.

Dr Ibadullah said that Speaker Swati had linked the passing of the bill with reliefforthe detained PTIfounder.

He also said the objections to the bill from PTI members was a lack of confidence in their chief minister.

`I asked the speaker that if he has linked the bill with relief for Imran, then what is the benefit of this briefing?` Meanwhile, Mr Swati said in a statement issued by his office that without the explicit approval from PTI founder Imran Khan, the bill wouldn`t `move to the next stage of consultation or laying in the assembly for approval.

He said the chief minister and PTI`s political committee would brief the PTI founder on the bill and only his instructions would decide about any further action.

`Written suggestions and proposed amendments came in from parliamentarians, legal experts and civil society representatives in large numbers, which were duly recorded. They will be shared with the principal secretary and the department of minerals for the consideration of the chief minister,` he said.