PESHAWAR: Provincial mineral development minister Ziaullah Afridi on Friday alleged that Chief Minister Pervez Khattak was behind his arrest by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ehtesab Commission (KPEC) on the false charge of misuse of authority.

`(CM) Pervez Khattak has got me implicated in a concocted case as I had ordered registration of cases against his men for carrying out illegal mining in Nowshera,` the minister said at the Federal Judicial Complex, where he was brought for physical custody from an ehtesab court.

Ehtesab judge Subhan Sher Khan remanded Ziaullah into the custody of ehtesab commission for 13 days.

Amidst sloganeering by his supporters against the chief minister, Ziaullah claimed the chief minister constantly pressured him to illegally `facilitate` his f ront men in Nowshera, includingQuaid-i-Azam, Ibrar and Dilroze.

`This is not ehtesab commission.

Rather, this is Pervez (Khattak) com-mission,` he said.

The minister said the chief minister was a drug addict, who during the last two years remained asleep for 22 months and that to show his progress, he got arrested a worker (Ziaullah).

`I was opposing the re-induction of Qaumi Watan Party in the cabinet as its ministers were earlier expelled on charge of corruption and due to same reason, I have now been targeted,` he said.

Scufne and heated exchanges occurred between pro-Ziaullah activists of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and the policemen when the latter tried to stop the minister from talking to media when he came out of the building af ter court proceedings.

Apart from the chief minister the activists were also raising slogans against Qaumi Watan Party and chanting slogans, including `Sherpao`s entry not acceptable.

An additional deputy prosecutor general,BarristerQaziBabarIrshad, told the court that the commission had started inquiry regarding illegalities in the mines and mineral department few weeks ago.

He added that the minister was not cooperating in the investigation as he was given a proforma carrying several questions but he did not give a reply.

The ofñcial alleged that the suspect was involved in illegal mining indifferent areas including Nowshera and Abbottabad and had inflicted a loss to the tune of billions of rupees to the exchequer.

He added that he was also involved in posting and transferring of officials during ban imposed on such transfers.

Abdul Lateef Afridi and Moazam Butt, counsel for the suspect, said the ehtesab commission had so far not mentioned any specific charges against their client and rather all allegations were of general nature.

They opposed the grant of physical remand of the suspect to the commission, saying the commission could not show to the court in which case he was required for investigation.

They said the postings for which the minister was charged were in fact carried out by the chief minister.

REMAND GRANTED: An accountability court on Friday remanded nine persons, including former provincial minister Nawabzada Mehmood Zeb and government officials, into the custody of the National Accountability Bureau for 12 days in a corruption case.

Accountability judge Mohammad Ibrahim Khan ordered production of the suspects on July 22.

The suspects were arrested on charges of awarding lucrative mining contract to a female schoolteacher.