Web Desk: The Peshawar High Court has rejected a review petition filed by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government against an Anti-Terrorism Court order concerning the May 9, 2023 attack on the Radio Pakistan building in Peshawar.
The high court upheld the trial court’s decision, allowing proceedings involving Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and four other Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf figures to continue.
Justice Sahibzada Asadullah issued the written judgment, maintaining that the ATC acted within its legal authority when it ordered forensic examination of electronic evidence connected with the case.
The ATC had included Sohail Afridi, former provincial ministers Taimur Saleem Jhagra and Kamran Bangash, PTI Peshawar district president Irfan Saleem and Amir Chamkani among the accused after their identities were examined through forensic and National Database and Registration Authority verification.
The case relates to the violence at the Radio Pakistan premises on May 9, 2023, when protesters attacked the building and caused extensive damage to property.
Authorities initially registered the case against 82 suspects, and the trial subsequently began.
During the proceedings, Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation informed the trial court that Radio Pakistan possessed a USB device containing CCTV footage from the incident.
The organisation requested that the device be sent to a forensic laboratory for examination. The ATC accepted the request and ordered the electronic evidence to undergo forensic analysis.
The provincial government challenged that order before the high court, arguing that the trial court had no authority to introduce or examine new material once the trial had commenced.
The high court rejected that argument, holding that an Anti-Terrorism Court has the authority to examine material that may be necessary to reach a fair conclusion in a case.
The judgment noted that the trial court had not instructed police to reopen the investigation. Nor had it ordered the registration of a new first information report or directed authorities to prepare a fresh charge sheet.
Instead, the ATC had ordered the forensic examination of an electronic device that could contain evidence relevant to the proceedings.
The high court therefore dismissed the provincial government’s petition and directed the trial court to continue the proceedings.
The judgment further stated that the CCTV footage and subsequent forensic report should be considered by the ATC on their merits.
Several of the accused became members of the assemblies during the course of the trial. The provincial cabinet had also sought withdrawal of the prosecution case during the proceedings, but the ATC rejected the request after considering the nature of the incident and the legal interests of Radio Pakistan.
The high court’s ruling does not determine the guilt or innocence of the accused. The ATC will now continue the trial and assess the available evidence before reaching a decision under the law.
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