PHC asks KPEC to merge all references against ex-minister

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday disposed of a writ petition of former provincial minister Ziaullah Afridi with a direction to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ehtesab Commission (KPEC) to first file all the references against the petitioner within a specified time and then merge them into one as per the fresh amendments to the KPEC Act.

A two-member bench comprising Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Daud Khan disposed of the writ petition after hearing arguments from the lawyer and deputy prosecutor general of the KPEC.

However, the high court ordered that proceeding in references against the petitioner would remain suspended until the commission merged all the references into a single one under the fresh amendments to the act.

Member Provincial Assembly Ziaullah Afridi, who was the minister for mines and mineral development when arrested by the commission in July 2015, had filed the writ petition. He had requested the court to declare trial against him in more than one reference at the same time as illegal and against the law.

The petitioner had challenged the preparation of the two subsequent references against him at a time when he is still facing trial in the earlier reference.Ziaullah Afridi, who was also expelled from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf after he had levelled allegations against Chief Minister Pervez Khattak, was arrested on July 9, 2015.

The KPEC had initially charged him with carrying out illegal postings, transfers and facilitating illegal mining in the province. Later, he was charged in two other cases. He was accused of facilitating illegal extension in lease of a lessee of the chromite mines in Charsadda and facilitating illegal mining of phosphate in Abbottabad.

Shumail Ahmad Butt, lawyer for the petitioner, said in the initial grounds for arrest given to his client it was mentioned that he had failed to exercise his authority to prevent loss to the exchequer through illegal mining, and the said charge pertained to the entire province. He questioned how the commission later prepared separate cases pertaining to mines in Charsadda and Abbottabad.

The lawyer said the KPEC intended to file more references against his client in the Ehtesab courts. He said when offences of the same kind were mentioned by the commission, then his client had to be tried in a single reference.

The lawyer said under Section 42 of the KPEC Act, 2014, a person accused of more offences than one of the same kind might be charged with and tried at one trial for any number of such offences.

KPEC Deputy Prosecutor General Zahid Aman said the commission had already filed two more references against the petitioner. He submitted that during investigation against the petitioner different cases surfaced against him and thus, the commission are filing separate cases against him. He also said that the writ petition was non-maintainable as the petitioner can file such petition before the court of Ehtesab Court.