Afridi says claims of depoliticising KP police ‘just a gimmick’ as police did not take action against all those people who were charged for illegal mining in district Nowshera
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s member of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly Ziaullah Afridi, who was arrested on charges of corruption and misuse of authority, was produced in the assembly on Thursday after the assembly speaker issued his production orders.
While speaking to the assembly session, Ziaullah Afridi negated the charges against him, saying that he was punished for the action against the people involved in illegal mining whose majority was from the chief minister’s constituency.
Criticising inspector general of police (IGP), Afridi said that the claims of depoliticising the police department was “just a gimmick” as police did not take action against all those people who were charged for illegal mining in district Nowshera and they were “close to chief minister”.
“I had no power to arrest those people but had the power to register complaint with police for arresting these people. However, none of them has been arrested because they were close to CM,” he said.
He alleged that the Ehtesab Commission has also closed its eyes on “rampant corruption” in Forestry Department as three officers of this department have been suspended for being accused of involvement in illegal cutting of forests.
“If Ehtesab Commission is so independent then why did it fail to make public the name of a high profile personality in the KP government which the commission questioned? It should make public the name and the questionnaire which it had it filled from a high profile personality,” he said.
“Is it not true that drug smugglers are sitting in the KP cabinet? Is it not correct that these smugglers are facing different cases registered against them? I am an accused and would face the charges at every forum to clear myself,” he said, adding that he would request the PTI chief to call core committee’s meeting wherein all members elected from town one and senior journalists would participate but chief minister would not sit there. He would prove his innocence before the committee and will resign from the assembly upon failure, he said.
He said that all those charged in corruption in the past have been made focal persons in Ehtesab Commission which shows how much the commission is performing to stop corruption.
Ziaullah said that he has been discharged of hospital on the orders of health minister while Ehtesab Commission DG has not accepted his repeated requests for the meeting.
He thanked opposition for demanding is production orders saying that speaker did not give him the favour but this was done after continues demand of opposition members. He said in last 48 days, no such orders have been given for his production which was his right.
