Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf's (PTI) Minister for Mines and Minerals Ziaullah Afridi was arrested on Thursday by the province's Ehtesab Commission while former KP minister Nawabzada Mehmood was arrested by National Accountability Bureau (NAB). Both of them were arrested on corruption charges. The Ehtesab Commission claims that the minister was involved in non-transparent lease of contracts pertaining to land.
The charges against him also include illegal recruitments and transfers. Ehtesab Commission was set up under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ehtesab Commission Act (KPECA) 2014 and Lieutenant General Hamid Khan (Retd), who had also served as Peshawar corps commander, was appointed its first director general on October 20, 2014. According to sources, the PTI lawmaker was arrested two days ago but the news regarding his arrest was made public yesterday. Afridi is accused of posssessing illegal assets and giving contracts to the people of his own choice.
BR staff reporter from Islamabad adds: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) arrested former minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Nawabzada Mehmood and others on Thursday on charges of corruption. An official said the bureau arrested former minister for technical education, manpower, industries and mineral department along with nine officials of mineral department, KP, allegedly involved in illegal allotment of government reservoirs of phosphate to a school-teacher, Rukhsana Javed.
The nine officials identified as Shah Wali Khan, former Secretary ministry of technical education, manpower, industries and mineral development, Asmatullah Khan Gandapur, former additional secretary, Farhad Ali, former section officer, Khan Badsha and former Deputy Director Mineral Department, Nauroz Khan Senior Geologist, Directorate General of Mines & Mineral, Ziarat Khan Senior Inspector of Mines presently Commissioner Mines, Shakirullah former Director Licensing Mineral Department, Perveiz Khan, Assistant Director (Litigation) Mineral Department and Ehtisham-ul-Mulk, assistant director technical college Hayatabad, Peshawar.
He said that the Executive Board Meeting of (EBM) of NAB presided over by NAB chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry on June 3, 2014 approved an inquiry against former minister KP and nine officials of mineral department. After completion of the inquiry, the EBM on November 19, 2014 authorised investigation against Muhammad Zeb and all other accused. The NAB spokesman said that during the course of investigation it was revealed that Sarhad Development Authority (SDA) held an area of 1200 acres of phosphate under Mining Lease from 1985 to 2005.
The area was surrendered in 2005 and was required to be put through an open auction as per Mining Concession Rules (MCR) 2005. The spokesman revealed that Rukhsana Javed applied for prospecting license (PL) of the above stated land in 2004; however, that application was rejected. She moved the court against the department. However, in 2008 Nawab Zada Mehmood Zeb in connivance with the other accused allegedly went beyond lawful means to ensure unlawful allotment of 500 acres to Rukhsana Javed through PL.
NAB documents accuse the then Minister of issuing illegal directives to officials regarding the processing of that specific PL despite rejection already approved from his department and evident from the records. All the other accused used to get directives from the Minister regarding the processing of this specific PL, the document further states. Later, the Mining Department took a U-turn and accepted the offer of settlement from Rukhsana Javed and constituted an illegal settlement committee on the orders of the secretary.
The committee recommended 500 acres from the above stated 1200 acres for prospecting license to her in exchange for withdrawal of court cases. In total contravention of the rules of business Nawab Zada Mehmood Zeb, chairing a meeting on 01-01-2009, approved the illegal recommendations of the above committee. Vested interests of the minister were evident from the fact that even before approval of the said lease, the agreement was signed between the lessee and Ehtisham-ul-Mulk, the frontman and cousin of the Minister.
The accused Nawab Zada Mehmood Zeb, the then Minister and all other accused, allegedly misused their authority in the illegal allotment of 500 acres of proven deposits of phosphate to Rukhana Javed who illegally excavated phosphate in collaboration with Ehtisham-ul-Mulk and allegedly caused a loss of Rs 360 million to the national exchequer.
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