PTI provincial minister, 10 others arrested by NAB

Published July 9, 2015
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf's (PTI) Provincial Minister for Mines and Minerals Ziaullah Afridi was arrested on corruption charges on Thursday following a proceeding by the Ehtesab Commission in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. —DawnNews Screengrab
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf's (PTI) Provincial Minister for Mines and Minerals Ziaullah Afridi was arrested on corruption charges on Thursday following a proceeding by the Ehtesab Commission in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. —DawnNews Screengrab

PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf's (PTI) Provincial Minister for Mines and Minerals Ziaullah Afridi was arrested on corruption charges on Thursday following a proceeding by the Ehtesab Commission in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The commission claims that the minister was involved in misuse of power for non-transparent leasing of contracts pertaining to land. The charges against him also include illegal recruitment and transfers allegedly made by the minister.

In another proceeding by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), former minister and secretary for mines and minerals Nawabzada Mehmood Zeb and Shah Wali respectively, Bannu Commissioner Asmatullah Khan along with seven others were arrested in a land leasing scandal.

NAB claims that in 2008, 500 acres of land owned by the Mines and Minerals Department was leased for 33 years for Rs14,000 only. The land was leased in Abbotabad to a woman named Rukhsana in a agreement made by the minister's front man Ehteshaamul Mulk which said that the profits will be shared between the two parties on a 50-50 basis.

Read more: Ehtesab Commission makes first arrests

Opinion

Editorial

Property valuation
Updated 31 Oct, 2024

Property valuation

Market valuation rates will not help boost tax revenues without plugging such loopholes in the system.
Hitting a wall
31 Oct, 2024

Hitting a wall

PAKISTAN still has a long way to go in defeating polio. Despite our decades-long fight against the debilitating...
Kurram violence
31 Oct, 2024

Kurram violence

DESPITE years of intermittent and bloody conflict in Kurram, the state has been unable to bring lasting peace to ...
Court business
Updated 30 Oct, 2024

Court business

The unity and commonality of purpose on display in the full court meeting are what will help the SC endure.
UNRWA ban
30 Oct, 2024

UNRWA ban

NOT content with the war of extermination it is executing against the Palestinian people, Israel now wants to ensure...
Cricket changes
30 Oct, 2024

Cricket changes

WIN or lose, Pakistan cricket seems to be embroiled in a constant state of flux. Just when things seemed to be...