KP CM Sohail Afridi Named in May 9 Radio Pakistan Attack Case

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has been named in the May 9, 2023 Radio Pakistan Peshawar attack case, as police submitted a detailed investigation and nomination report to the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC-III).

The police report also named former provincial ministers Taimoor Saleem Jhagra and Kamran Bangash, PTI Peshawar president Irfan Saleem and party activist Amir Khan Chamkani in the case. The development came in the case related to the attack, vandalism and arson at the Radio Pakistan Peshawar building on May 9, 2023.

Police submitted the investigation report in light of findings from the Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA) and the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA). According to the police report, the five individuals were named on the basis of forensic and identification reports.

The police had sent relevant videos and photographs to the PFSA for forensic examination and also sought assistance from NADRA for identification. The PFSA report mentioned a facial match between the profile photographs provided for examination and people seen in the videos. The NADRA report also indicated possible matches between the individuals’ identification records and profile photographs.

The court had earlier directed police to submit the complete investigation record after declaring a previous report incomplete and inconclusive. It had ordered the police to present the full record, relevant evidence and a comprehensive final report in light of the PFSA and NADRA findings.

Counsel for Radio Pakistan, Supreme Court lawyer Shabbir Hussain Gigyani, had argued that merely placing the PFSA and NADRA reports before the court was not sufficient and that the investigation and original record behind those reports should also be presented.

The five individuals had already been identified in the context of the PFSA and NADRA reports. Their inclusion in the latest police investigation report follows the court’s directions regarding the forensic findings. The Radio Pakistan case already involves 75 accused facing trial. The legal effect of naming the five additional individuals and any further proceedings against them will be determined by the court in accordance with the record and law.

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