Court moves after challan filed
An anti-terrorism bench in Peshawar on Wednesday directed that suspended Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Sohail Afridi be taken into custody, along with four other Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf figures, in the matter of the May 2023 assault on Radio Pakistan’s provincial capital station.
District prosecutors placed a challan before Judge Wali Muhammad Khan that lists Afridi; ex-ministers Taimur Saleem Jhagra and Kamran Khan Bangash; Irfan Saleem, who heads PTI’s Peshawar chapter; and worker Amir Khan Chamkani. The judge said nomination in a submitted charge sheet meant warrants should issue under the law.
Shabbir Hussain Gigyani, appearing for the broadcaster, told the court that film of the incident exists and that identities should be checked through NADRA—the national identity database—and the Punjab forensic science body. The bench later received laboratory findings from NADRA in Islamabad and the Lahore forensic facility that, according to the prosecution’s courtroom account, place those named at the site.
What the prosecution and defence argued
Gigyani also complained that police work had finished yet the charge sheet reached the court only after a gap of almost half a year. He said nominating lists once ran past eighty people, and that five names now sit in the challan for alleged roles in the attack. He pressed the bench to act on the forensic matches.
Ali Zaman, for the defence, asked for extra time and a pause. After hearing both sides, the court issued the warrants and fixed the next date for 4 November.
Links to custody and provincial emergency
Accounts of Afridi being held surfaced soon after Islamabad announced emergency rule and a governor’s administration for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on 11 October, citing Articles 232 and 234. Officials pointed to worsening security and weak provincial backing for anti-terror efforts. On 12 October, the minister of state for interior said Afridi and some cabinet colleagues were in preventive detention.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- 9–10 May 2023: Crowds linked to protests after Imran Khan’s arrest force entry at Radio Pakistan Peshawar, torch the premises and vehicles, and wreck gear. The station, on air since 1935, lost historic Pashto and Hindko recordings among other archives.
- May 2023 onward: Nominating lists for related violence and the radio attack once named more than eighty PTI office-holders and workers.
- November 2025: The ATC tells prosecution witnesses and the investigating officer to attend with case property; attention turns to matching faces from film and stills.
- January (year of the laboratory review): Sixteen clips examined in Punjab show Afridi, Bangash, Jhagra and Irfan Saleem; analysts also flag possible edits or splices in some material, so the evidence needs careful testing.
- 11–12 October: Federal emergency and governor’s rule for the province; preventive custody of Afridi and some ministers is confirmed the next day.
- Wednesday hearing: Challan with five names filed; warrants ordered; next sitting 4 November.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Peshawar ki anti-terror court ne Sohail Afridi aur chaar PTI logon ke liye arrest warrants nikal diye hain. Mamla May 2023 mein Radio Pakistan Peshawar par hamla aur aag lagane ka hai. Adalat ne forensic video ke hawale se inhein case mein shamil kiya hai. Agli sunwai 4 November ko hogi.
