KATHMANDU: Nepali Communist Party (NCP) leader and former finance minister Barshaman Pun has urged the government to clarify whether Nepal has entered into any international partnership involving minerals of “strategic and security importance.”

Speaking during a theoretical discussion on the Mines and Minerals Bill, 2083 in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, Pun specifically questioned whether Nepal had joined the Pax Silica initiative concerning the exploration and extraction of strategically important minerals by foreign companies.

Pun said the bill’s provision allowing the government to designate certain minerals as being of strategic and security importance could conflict with Article 279 of the Constitution, which governs agreements and treaties of national importance.

He said questions had been raised over whether Nepal joined Pax Silica during the interim government led by Sushila Karki, and called on the government to provide Parliament with a clear explanation.

Pun also highlighted the growing global competition over rare earth minerals, noting that such resources are believed to exist in Nepal as well.

He argued that if strategically important minerals are to be explored or extracted by foreign companies, constitutional requirements concerning agreements of national importance, including the two-thirds approval provision, must be respected.

“The issue of rare earth minerals has become a major area of competition among global powers,” Pun said, stressing the need for greater parliamentary scrutiny before Nepal enters into strategic mineral partnerships with foreign entities.