Peshawar: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has become embroiled in a legal dispute; a forensic report submitted by the prosecution to the Anti-Terrorism Court regarding the Radio Pakistan attack case identifies him as one of the suspects visible in alleged video footage of the incident.
According to a report, the document prepared by the Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA) is based on footage showing the vandalism of the Radio Pakistan office in Peshawar following the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan in May 2023.
Last month, the court had ordered that the video clips be sent for forensic analysis and that a report be submitted.
At that time, the defense counsel had raised no objections regarding the admissibility or legal validity of the footage.
Authorities had provided photographs and video clips of Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, former provincial ministers Taimur Saleem Jhagra and Kamran Bangash, and two other Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders Irfan Saleem and Amir Khan Chamkani for analysis. None of them had previously been named as suspects in the case.
In its report, the PFSA offered an opinion on two points: whether the videos contained on the USB drive were authentic, and whether the individuals whose profile photos were provided appeared in the video clips.
According to the report, all five individuals, including the Chief Minister, are visible in the videos; however, it does not specify whether the footage relates to the Radio Pakistan attack or another incident.
The report did note, however, that the videos had not undergone any editing, other than the compilation of footage captured by different cameras.
According to a legal expert familiar with the case, following this evidence, the investigating officer could name additional suspects in the Anti-Terrorism Court via a supplementary charge sheet, or the court itself could take cognizance of the matter. Similarly, the Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation can also file a request regarding the involvement of the accused in light of the forensic report.
