PESHAWAR: Former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa minister for mines and mineral development, Ziaullah Afridi, who was arrested in July by the provincial anti-corruption body, said on Monday he will not work out a compromise with KP Chief Minister Pervez Khattak for his release, claiming the latter had “framed false charges” against him.

The jailed former Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader, who is undergoing treatment at the Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar, was flanked by dozens of party workers and newly-elected councilors when he told DawnNews that he had received “some messages from Khattak” but his fate will now be decided by the courts.

Read: Ziaullah Afridi remanded in KPEC custody in another case

“I want to clarify that no negotiations will be held with Pervez Khattak for my release,” Ziaullah Afridi said while claiming his innocence along with that of the former director general of the mines and minerals department.

“We are paying the price for our actions taken against the people who are under the umbrella of the chief minister,” he said.

Read: PTI suspends basic party membership of Ziaullah Afridi

Afridi said he is a loyal and senior worker of the PTI and chairman Imran Khan should not have blindly trusted actions taken by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ehtesab Commission.

“The only grievance I have against my party chairman is that he should have formed a party committee to probe the corruption allegations against me,” the former PTI leader said.

Meanwhile, sources told DawnNews that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Speaker Asad Qaisar had issued a conditional production order for Ziaullah Afridi .

A four-member parliamentary delegation comprising Advisor to Chief Minister Amjad Afridi, Sardar Aurangzeb Nalotha, Syed Mohammad Ali Shah Baacha and Opposition leader Maulana Lutfur Rehman held a meeting with Ziaullah Afridi on Monday, according to sources.

The delegation conveyed the speaker's message that the production order would be issued if Afridi does not speak against Chief Minister Pervez Khattak in the KP Assembly, claimed sources.

Sources further said that after the offer, Afridi is likely to participate in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Session this week.