PESHAWAR: A Peshawar High Court bench on Tuesday granted bail to former provincial minister Ziaullah Afridi, who was arrested by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ehtesab Commission around 15 months ago on multiple charges of corrupt practices in the mines and mineral department.

Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth and Justice Qalandar Ali Khan asked Mr. Afridi, the petitioner, to furnish two surety bonds valuing Rs2 million each for release.

Mr. Afridi, who was elected MPA on the ticket of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf from Peshawar, was arrested by the KPEC on July 9, 2015, initially on charge of facilitating illegal mining in the province during the stint first as the special assistant to the chief minister on mines and mineral development and then minister of the same department.

Later, the KPEC registered three more cases related to the same department against him.

Shumail Ahmad Butt, lawyer for the petitioner, said after becoming the minister, his client had reformed the mines and mineral development department and had the first mineral policy of the province in 2014 to his credit.

He said his client had dealt with At last, former PTI minister gets bail illegal miners strictly as during his tenure, over 497 matters of illegal mining were reported to the police and 205 FIRs were registered and thus, upsetting perpetrators of illegal mining, and their supporters and facilitators.

The lawyer said because of his closeness to the ruling party’s central leadership and unwavering stand against illegal mining, some of the province’s ‘political bosses’ began perceiving him as a potential threat for themselves.

He claimed that in order to neutralise him as a political threat and to forestall possible legal action due to their involvement in illegal mining, a conspiracy was hatched against the petitioner on absolutely flimsy charges.

The lawyer claimed that the KPEC while allowing itself to be used as a tool, unlawfully arrested the petitioner in July 2015 on the charge of causing loss to the exchequer by illegal mining.

He added that on Aug 5, 2015, the KPEC served another ground of arrest on the petitioner by accusing him of using his influence on a mining committee to favour the renewal of a person’s chromite mines licence.

Mr. Butt said the commission later served another ground of arrest on the petitioner related to facilitating alleged illegal mining of Phosphate in Abbottabad. He added that the petitioner was also investigated in another matter pertaining to appointments of some class IV employees.

He said during the prolonged period of his incarceration as an under-trial prisoner, the KPEC had filed four references against the petitioner in the Court of Judge, Ehtesab Court No. 1, Peshawar.

The lawyer said in the references so far filed against the petitioner, the respondents had provided long lists of over 100 witnesses which were to be examined by the prosecution.

He said despite the passage of almost 15 months since his arrest, his client hadn’t been formally charged even in a single reference and that there was no likelihood of the conclusion of trial in foreseeable future.

Mr. Butt said the co-accused in four references in question had already been released by the court on bail and therefore, the petitioner was also entitled to bail on the basis of the principle of consistency.

A KPEC prosecutor present in the court opposed the release of the petitioner on bail saying enough evidence of his corrupt practices was available on record.

He added that the petitioner was the prime accused in the four corruption cases.

Published in Dawn October 5th, 2016