PESHAWAR: Former provincial minister Ziaullah Afridi has moved an adjournment motion in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly demanding suspension of Speaker Asad Qaiser following corruption allegations against him.

Sharing details with this correspondent on Wednesday, the MPA said that the National Accountability Bureau had approved initiation of investigation against Mr Qaiser to ascertain the charges pertaining to alleged illegal appointments, kickbacks in contracts, etc and thus being a custodian of the house he should not sit on the seat till his exoneration from the allegations.

The MPA said that Mr Qaiser was sitting on a constitutional seat and it did not suit a person facing corruption charges to exercise his official powers unless he was declared innocent. “Mr Qaiser should remain suspended unless he proves himself innocent,” he pleaded.

Mr Afridi said that Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan should respect his own principles and ask Mr Qaiser to step down as PA Speaker. He said that for a fair trial in the case the speaker should be suspended to fulfil the requirement of justice.

The lawmaker also alleged that the provincial government was using the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ehtesab Commission against its opponents otherwise the commission was bound to take action on the applications submitted to it by people in different cases. He said that the commission was avoiding taking action against the speaker and it was an ample proof of its poor performance.

Ziaullah Afridi had won the provincial assembly election from PK-1 on the PTI ticket and served as provincial minister. He was sacked as minister under corruption charges and remained imprisoned for about 13 months. The case against the lawmaker is still in the court. However, his party membership was cancelled in 2015.

Published in Dawn, March 23rd, 2017