PESHAWAR: An anti-terrorism court here on Friday declared inconclusive and discarded a report submitted by the investigation officer (IO) for the ransacking and torching of the building of Radio Pakistan Peshawar in May 2023.
Judge Wali Mohammad Khan termed the report bereft of the opinion of the IO and directed him to submit a conclusive report in light of the findings of the 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.
He fixed Sept 24 for the next hearing, directing IO of the case and deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Khushal Khan to submit a conclusive report.
Submission of the report by the IO has been the centre of debate in the ongoing trial of the occurrence following submission of forensic reports by the PFSA and Nadra early this year, wherein Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has also been identified in the provided video footages and picture profile as one of the suspects.
Counsel for Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation Shabbir Hussain Gigyani contended that under Section 19(1) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, it was mandatory for the prosecution to submit case report and challan before this court positively by including the suspects identified in the reports of the PFSA and Nadra as accused. He said that on failure to submit a proper report by the prosecution the court was empowered to initiate contempt proceedings against the responsible officers.
The lawyer added that instead of submitting proper report/challan the prosecution had submitted the instant report, which was devoid of nomination of the concerned suspects as accused.
Additional advocate general Nomanul Haq Kakakhel, who is special prosecutor in the case, questioned the inclusion of the PBC as aggrieved party in the case as well as appointment of a private counsel by it.
Over an application of the PBC, the court had ordered on Dec 12, 2025, forensic examination of the “relevant” videos and facial recognition of the accused through Nadra and PFSA.
The video-clips and profile pictures provided for forensic examination included that of chief minister Sohail Afridi, former provincial ministers Taimoor Saleem Jhagra and Kamran Bangash, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s district Peshawar president Irfan Saleem and another activist Amir Khan Chamkani.
In a report, the PFSA gave the opinion that after forensic analysis, it was concluded that the facial features of the said five persons matched with the facial features of the suspected persons seen in the videos. However, nowhere the report mentioned that the clips were that of Radio Pakistan occurrence.
Similarly, the Nadra in its report mentioned CNIC numbers, apparently of the said five persons, claiming these were probable matches to their profile pictures.
The leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf had questioned the veracity of the video clips and had said that these clips didn’t belong to the Radio Pakistan, Peshawar attack, which took place on May 10, 2023, after the former Prime Minister and PTI founder Imran Khan was arrested.
The 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.
Published in Dawn, September 19th, 2026
