PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Tuesday issued notices to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ehtesab Commission director general and director investigation to respond to a habeas corpus petition challenging the arrest of provincial minister Ziaullah Afridi by the commission over the alleged misuse of authority.

Later, a bench comprising Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Irshad Qaisar fixed July 23 for next hearing into the petition of Hidayatullah Afridi seeking the release of his detained brother, Ziaullah, on different grounds.

Ziaullah Afridi, who was elected as an MPA of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf in the 2013 general elections from PK-1 Peshawar I, was arrested on July 9 by the KPEC on charges of illegal mining in different areas as well as carrying out postings and transfers in his department.

Abdul Lateef Afridi and Moazzam Butt, lawyers for the petitioner, said the detainee was entitled to bail as in identical grounds, the court had allowed bail to other petitioners.

They said the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) as federal agency had already initiated inquiry against the department of mines and mineral development and had already arrested several of its officials including a former director general.

Brother had sought minister’s release on bail in case of misuse of authority

The counsel said the file related to illegal mining of Mamakhel mine in Nowshera district was with the NAB and that the phosphate mining case was also under its consideration, so the KPEC could not interfere in the matter under Section 35 of the KPEC Act, which clearly suggests as to which agency is to examine these cases.

The petitioner said the KPEC Act 2014 was in conflict with the National Accountability Ordinance 1999 as the ordinance had been holding the field since 1999, while the Act was enforced in 2014 and therefore, in terms of Article 142 and 143 of the Constitution, the same was repugnant to the federal law, so it was an invalid law with all actions taken under it being illegal including the detention of the minister.

He said the detained minister had developed serious differences with high-ups, who had threatened him with dire consequences on the issue of mines and minerals in which blue-eyed people from their home districts were involved.

“In fact, the arrest of the detainee (minister) is the result of his opposition to wrong policies and acts of government,” he said.

The respondents in the petition are the KPEC director general, prosecutor general, director investigation and investigation officer, judge of the ehtesab court concerned and SHO of the relevant police station.

REMANDED INTO CUSTODY: An ehtesab court on Tuesday remanded the director (administration) of the mines and mineral department, Mir Zaman, into the custody of KPEC for 10 days in the case.

The ehtesab judge Hayat Ali Shah directed that the suspect should be again produced on July 24.

The additional deputy prosecutor general of the commission, Barrister Qazi Babar Irshad appeared before the court and said the suspect was arrested on charges of misuse of authority.

He said earlier, Ziaullah Afridi and director general of the department Dr Liaquat Ali were also arrested in the case.

Published in Dawn ,July 15th, 2015

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