Web Desk: Police have named Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and several Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leaders in connection with the May 2023 attack on the Radio Pakistan building in Peshawar, according to an investigation report submitted to an anti-terrorism court.
The development follows forensic examination of video footage linked to the violence that erupted across Pakistan after the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan on May 9, 2023. Punjab Forensic Science Agency and National Database and Registration Authority findings had earlier identified Afridi and other PTI figures in footage submitted to investigators.
The investigation officer presented the latest report before the Anti-Terrorism Court in Peshawar, according to Pakistani media reports. The prosecution also placed forensic material before the court, with arguments from the parties expected to address the findings and other government reports.
The case concerns the ransacking and burning of the Radio Pakistan building in Peshawar during the May 9 unrest. Police have also sought to include former provincial ministers Taimur Saleem Jhagra and Kamran Bangash, PTI Peshawar president Irfan Saleem and party worker Amir Chamkani among the accused.
However, the legal status of the evidence has been contested. In March, a special prosecutor told the court that the available video material did not conclusively establish that the footage depicted the Radio Pakistan attack and argued that resemblance alone was insufficient to sustain charges against the individuals.
The latest development follows a September 19 court order in which the Anti-Terrorism Court discarded an earlier investigation report as inconclusive.
Judge Wali Mohammad Khan directed the investigating officer to submit a conclusive report after taking into account findings from the Punjab Forensic Science Agency and Nadra concerning video clips and profile photographs of suspects. The court set Sept. 24 for submission of the revised report.
Forensic authorities had earlier examined 16 videos frame by frame. Reports cited by Pakistani media said the analysis found no evidence of editing in several clips and matched profile photographs with individuals appearing in the footage.
The forensic findings have become a central part of the prosecution’s case. Reports published in January said forensic officials identified Afridi, along with Jhagra, Bangash and other PTI figures, in footage connected by investigators to the May 9 violence.
At the same time, PTI figures have disputed the interpretation of the footage. Earlier reporting quoted party representatives as questioning whether the videos were directly connected to the Radio Pakistan attack.
Being named in an investigation report does not by itself establish criminal guilt. The allegations remain subject to proceedings before the court.
The case has significant political implications because Afridi is the sitting chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. His inclusion in the investigation adds a high-profile political figure to one of the most prominent cases arising from the May 9 unrest.
Any consequences for his office would depend on subsequent court proceedings and applicable constitutional and legal provisions. The filing of a police report or nomination as an accused does not, on its own, amount to a conviction or automatic removal from office.
The latest court proceedings therefore mark another stage in a case that has remained under scrutiny for more than three years, with prosecutors, defence lawyers and investigators continuing to contest the interpretation and evidentiary value of the material before the court.
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