Ex-minister Ziaullah’s arrest challenged in PHC

PESHAWAR: The arrest of former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) provincial minister Ziaullah Afridi by the Ehtesab Commission was challenged in the Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Monday.
The Ehtesab Commission had arrested the provincial Minister for Mines and Mineral Development Ziaullah Afridi on Thursday on charges of misusing authority and allowing illegal mining in various areas of the province.
After his arrest, the PTI-led provincial government announced his removal from the cabinet.Hidayatullah Afridi, brother of Ziaullah Afridi challenged the arrest in the high court through his lawyers Abdul Latif Afridi and Muazzam Butt.
It was claimed in the petition that Ziaullah Afridi was performing his duty as minister in a proper manner. It said in order to check irregular and illegal mining about 350 cases were registered against the offenders on the orders of the minister.
The petitioner noted that the detainee (Ziaullah Afridi) had developed serious differences with the higher authorities who had threatened him of dire consequences on the issue of mines and minerals in which some blue-eyed people belonging to the home districts of the high-ups were involved.
The petitioner said his brother’s arrest and then custody by the Ehtesab Commission is illegal and unlawful as the warrant and grounds of arrest were vague and ambiguous and didn’t warrant the case of prosecution.
The petition argued that the Ehtesab Commission decision to arrest the provincial minister was just to gain cheap popularity and misguide the public. It pointed out that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had already initiated inquiry against the department of mines and mineral development and many officials but suddenly the Ehtesab Commission arrested the provincial minister.
It said under the law the Ehtesab Commission has no authority to take action in the same case that was already being investigated by the NAB. The petitioner also stated that the Ehtesab Act is in conflict with the NAB Ordinance 1999. It maintained that under the Constitution the Ehtesab Act is repugnant to the Federal Law and is, therefore, an invalid law and action taken by Ehtesab Commission is illegal.