ATC issues Sohail Afridi's arrest warrants

May 9 Radio Pakistan attack case moves forward

PESHAWAR:

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Peshawar on Wednesday issued arrest warrants for former Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Sohail Afridi, former provincial ministers Taimur Saleem Jhagra and Kamran Bangash, PTI Peshawar district president Irfan Saleem and party worker Aamir Chamkani in the case relating to the attack on the Radio Pakistan building here on May 9 and 10.

The court of Judge Wali Muhammad adjourned further proceedings until November 4 after the district public prosecutor submitted a supplementary charge sheet nominating the five PTI figures. The original case already lists more than 80 accused over the violent incidents that followed the arrest of PTI founder Imran Khan.

Defence counsel Ali Zaman Advocate appeared for the nominated accused, while investigating officer Khushhal, the public prosecutor and Radio Pakistan counsel Shabbir Hussain Ghaigiani were also present. At the outset of the hearing, the defence requested an adjournment for more time to prepare. The judge declined, noting that the charge sheet had been filed and the accused formally nominated, leaving the court with no legal option but to issue warrants of arrest.

Radio Pakistan's lawyer had earlier pressed for forensic identification of individuals visible in CCTV footage of the attack. In response, the court obtained reports from NADRA in Islamabad and the Punjab Forensic Science Agency Laboratory in Lahore. Both agencies examined the video and still images. The crime-scene footage was also subjected to forensic analysis, which, according to the prosecution, confirmed the presence of the newly nominated accused at the site during the attack.

Counsel for Radio Pakistan told the court that police had completed their investigation months earlier, yet the charge sheet was not presented for nearly six months. On May 9 and 10, violent crowds targeted the Radio Pakistan Peshawar building, vandalising the premises and setting parts of it on fire.