PESHAWAR: The investigation officer (IO) submitted a progress report to an anti-terrorism court into the ransacking and torching of the building of Radio Pakistan Peshawar in May 2023, wherein he nominated Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and four others as accused persons.

ATC Judge Wali Mohammad Khan directed DSP Khushal Khan, the investigation officer, to submit supplementary charge sheet in the case by Sept 28, the next date of hearing in the ongoing trial of around 75 persons earlier charged by the prosecution for the occurrence.

During the previous hearing, the IO had submitted a report, which was discarded by the court terming it bereft of his opinion and had directed him to submit a conclusive report.

The IO on Thursday submitted the progress report in light of the findings of Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA) and National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) about certain video clips, purportedly of the incident, and profile pictures of certain suspects, respectively.

Court orders IO to submit charge sheet by Sept 28

The IO has now named Chief Minister Mohammad Sohail Afridi, former provincial ministers Taimoor Saleem Jhagra and Kamran Bangash, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf district Peshawar president Irfan Saleem and another activist Amir Khan Chamkani in the case as accused persons.

He stated that in the light of the findings of PFSA and Nadra, the director of Radio Pakistan Peshawar had also recorded his supplementary statement wherein he had also nominated the said five persons as accused. He said that more than 100 of the suspects in the occurrence were unidentified.

The issue of the present report by the IO has been the centre of debate in the ongoing trial of the occurrence following submission of forensic reports by PFSA and Nadra early this year, wherein Mr Afridi and the four others have been identified in the provided video footage and picture profile as suspects.

Over an application submitted by Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation’s lawyer Shabbir Hussain Gigyani, the court had ordered on Dec 12, 2025, forensic examination of ‘relevant’ videos and facial recognition of the accused through Nadra and PFSA.

The IO in his report stated that PFSA gave the opinion that after forensic analysis, it was concluded that facial features of the said five persons matched with the facial features of suspected persons seen in the videos while involved in rioting.

Similarly, Nadra in its report mentioned identity card numbers, apparently of the said five persons, claiming those were probable matches to their profile pictures.

The KP government has already appointed the additional advocate general, Nomanul Haq Kakakhel, as special prosecutor in this case. The special prosecutor has questioned the inclusion of PBC as an aggrieved party in the case as well as appointment of a private counsel by it.

The leaders of PTI had questioned the veracity of video clips and said that those clips didn’t belong to Radio Pakistan Peshawar attack, which took place on May 10, 2023, after former prime minister and PTI founder Imran Khan was arrested.

ATC is presently conducting the trial, with 75 accused, including some present and former lawmakers, being indicted on June 3, 2025, on multiple counts. The accused had pleaded not guilty.

The accused facing trial include provincial minister Meena Khan Afridi, MNA Asif Khan, MPAs Fazal Ilahi Khan and Arbab Waseem, who left PTI and joined PTI-Parliamentarian, and former MPAs Arbab Jehandad, Fida Gul and Wajid Khan.

The FIR of the incident was registered at East Cantonment police station on May 10, 2023, on the complaint of the then SHO, Arbab Naeem Haider, under different provisions of Pakistan Penal Code and Anti-Terrorism Act.

Published in Dawn, September 25th, 2026