ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has suspended the party membership of its MPA from Peshawar Ziaullah Afridi who is facing charges of misuse of authority as minister for mines and mineral development.

“His basic membership will remain suspended till the decision of the relevant courts,” a notification issued by party’s central organiser Jahangir Tareen said here on Friday.

The notification has been issued a day after Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak sent a summary to Governor Mahtab Ahmed Khan for removal of Mr Afridi from his cabinet.

Mr Tareen said the action had been taken on the instructions of PTI Chairman Imran Khan.

Copies of the notification have been sent to Fazal Mohammad Khan, chief organiser of the party’s KP chapter, and his deputy Dr Haider Ali.

Mr Afridi was arrested by the provincial accountability commission on July 9 on the charges of misusing authority and allowing illegal mining in various areas. He is on a 13-day physical remand.

He was reportedly suspected of not having exercised his powers as minister to prevent loss to the exchequer caused by illegal mining, rather facilitating them for personal gains.

The PTI had earlier asked Mr Afridi to resign from the cabinet or be ready to face sacking.

Mr Afridi had challenged his arrest in the Peshawar High Court, alleging that he was being implicated in a false case at the behest of Mr Khattak for “not facilitating the front men of the chief minister in illegal acts”.

Soon after his arrest, the PTI chairman had declared that he would have to face the inquiry and clear himself of the charges he was facing.

An official in the provincial assembly secretariat said even if a minister was removed from the cabinet, he would continue to retain his seat as an MPA unless he was convicted by the court and subsequently disqualified by the Election Commission. He said an arrested MPA could attend assembly sessions.

Mr Afridi had won the provincial assembly seat from PK-1, Peshawar. It falls within a National Assembly constituency from where Imran Khan had won in the 2013 elections. The PTI, however, lost the seat to the Awami National Party during the by-elections after Mr Khan vacated it.

Published in Dawn, July 18th, 2015

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