PTI's Ziaullah Afridi rushed to hospital due to 'severe chest pain'

PTI minister accused of abusing the authority of his office spends hours in hospital for treatment

PESHAWAR: Minister for Mines and Minerals Ziaullah Afridi was shifted from a lockup on Saturday as he complained of severe chest pain.

Complaints of ill health came a day after the minister, who is from the ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), was remanded into custody for 13 days by the Ehtesab Commission court.

The accused complained of abdomen pain too. Ziaullah's lawyer, Mauzzam Butt said “I could not talk to Ziaullah because he was under treatment. I was told that he was taken to the Hayatabad Medical Complex as he was having some heart problem.”

Read: Embezzlement allegations: PTI minister, 10 officials arrested in 

Meanwhile, an official from the Ehtesab Commission requesting anonymity told The Express Tribune that Ziaullah was shifted to the Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC) where he was thoroughly examined. "Ziaullah was handcuffed during his treatment," a doctor at HMC said.

Further, after spending five hours at the hospital, the accused was shifted back to the lockup at 5am, only to be taken to another hospital for further tests as the pain failed to subside.

Earlier, the Ehtesab Commission court granted a 13-day physical remand of Minister for Mines and Minerals Ziaullah Afridi to the commission.

Afridi has been accused of abusing the authority of his office, of posting and transferring officials without following protocols and of causing the exchequer losses worth billions of rupees.

Read: PTI minister Ziaullah Afridi remanded into Ehtesab’s custody

The minister was arrested on Thursday by the commission. In a hand-out issued by Ehtesab the same day, Afridi was accused by the commission of misappropriation of funds which caused “losses worth billions of rupees” to the provincial exchequer.