Dr Mubarakmand's name echoes in SC during Reko Diq hearing.

ISLAMABAD -- The name of eminent nuclear physicist Dr Samar Mubarakmand echoed in the Reko Diq case when Additional Attorney General (AAG) Chaudhry Aamir Rehman on Wednesday mentioned the expert's briefing to the Supreme Court on the same subject some 12 years ago.

The development came when a five-member bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Umar Ata Bandial, was hearing a presidential reference filed month on the Reko Diq case.

In January 2011, Dr Mubarakmand told the top court that Pakistan had the necessary expertise and technology to explore and refine precious metals on its own and the Reko Diq project would fetch the country around $2 billion a year.

At that time, the Supreme Court was seized with challenges to a contract awarded to the Tethyan Copper Company Pakistan (TCCP) for exploring gold and copper.

AAG tells court big firms shying away from gold, copper mining project amid huge liabilities, absence of guarantees

Consequently, after the presentation and the 2013 judgment by the Supreme Court in which the contract was held to be illegal, AAG Rehman explained the Balochistan Copper and Gold Project invested Rs8.12bn by venturing into exploring the precious minerals and even dug holes. But the domestic venture had to be closed two years later in 2015 after it failed to produce results.

'How can a scientist say we can do that when he is an expert on metallurgy?' Justice Ijazul Ahsan wondered, also recalling how the same person stated that the Thar Coal...