PESHAWAR: Former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa minister for mines and mineral development, Ziaullah Afridi, who was arrested in July by the provincial anti-corruption body, made an appearance in the provincial assembly on Thursday, where he alleged that the KP cabinet was full of “smugglers who were not being apprehended.”
Speaker Asad Qaisar had issued a production order for the detained former minister so he could attend the assembly sittings on Thursday and Friday.
In his speech on the assembly's floor, the ex-provincial minister from Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) alleged that KP Chief Minister Pervez Khattak was “responsible for the failure of PTI's Islamabad sit-in last year.”
He said that the chief minister had restricted him from inviting people to the capital during last year's sit-in, adding that the provincial police chief was a “fake person,” who “only talks but does not take action”.
Afridi criticised CM Pervez Khattak for “framing false charges” against him and slammed the Inspector General of Police Nasir Durrani, asking stern questions regarding the Army Public School attack in his address.
“714 lawsuits have been filed in mineral cases in Nowshera, but none of them have been addressed by the police chief.”
He called for authorities to investigate the Army Public School massacre that took place on December 16, 2014, and determine “exactly” how the insurgents had reached the school.
Earlier, members of the assembly welcomed Ziaullah Afridi with desk thumping, while hundreds of supporters were present outside the legislature.
Several lawmakers of the treasury and opposition had held meetings with the detained minister and sought commitments. Sources had earlier said the production order for Afridi had been issued on the condition that he would not speak against the chief minister on the assembly floor.
