Ehtesab Court extends ex-minister’s remand

PESHEhtesab Court extends ex-minister’s remand Ziaullah Afridi’s supporters chant slogans against CM; 3 PML-N MPAs visit court to show solidarity
AWAR: The Ehtesab Court on Tuesday extended the remand of the former minister for mines and mineral development Ziaullah Afridi in the custody of the Ehtesab Commission Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for three days.
As has been the case during previous court hearings, his supporters thronged the court and chanted slogans against Chief Minister Pervez Khattak.The officials of the Ehtesab Commission produced the former PTI minister in the court amid tight security.
In a new development, members of the provincial assembly belonging to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), including Sardar Aurangzeb Nalotha, Sheraz Khan and Sardar Fareed, attended the court proceedings to express solidarity with Ziaullah Afridi.
During hearing, Ziaullah Afridi informed the Ehtesab Court headed by Hayat Ali Shah that he had filed 97 cases of illegal mining including 17 in Nowshera which is the home district of the chief minister.
He claimed the police did not take action against the accused persons charged with illegal mining in Nowshera. The incarcerated former minister reiterated his accusation against the chief minister. “The DG Ehtesab Commission also provided the copy of the questionnaires meant for him to the chief minister. This shows the Ehtesab Commission is working under the chief minister and is not an independent body,” he told the court.
He said his political victimisation and defamation was carried out through the Ehtesab Commission as his pictures were posted on the social media after he was taken into custody. However, Barrister Qazi Babar Irshad, Additional Deputy Prosecutor General of the Ehtesab Commission, requested the judge to extend Ziaullah Afridi’s physical custody as further investigation into the case was required.
He said Ziaullah Afridi was involved in illegal postings and transfers as the minister of his department. He also accused him of being involved in illegal mining.Ziaullah Afridi’s lawyers opposed extension in his physical remand and argued that the Ehtesab Commission had failed to produce any specific charge against him.
They said the minister had played his role in the registration of more than 200 FIRs in Nowshera and other districts against those involved in illegal mining.Meanwhile, Ziaullah Afridi’s charged supporters tried to stop the armoured personnel carrier (APC) when the police did not allow him to meet with them.
They chanted slogans against the chief minister and in support of Ziaullah Afridi. Ziaullah Afridi also signed the application for production order in the court, requesting Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly speaker to issue his production order for the ongoing assembly’s session.
It was stated in the application that the undersigned is in the custody of the Ehtesab Commission. “It is requested that the production order may be issued for the current session of the assembly under Rule 65A of the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Procedure and Conduct of Business Rules, 1988.”
During the previous hearing, Ziaullah Afridi had submitted an application to the court in which he alleged that the chief minister had been misusing his office by interfering in the case against him. He alleged that the chief minister had been influencing the inquiry and pressuring officials to testify against him.