Arrest warrants for Sohail Afridi, others out in Radio Pakistan attack case

Why This Matters

Key context: <p>PESHAWAR: An anti-terrorism court on Wednesday issued arrest warrants for Sohail Afridi, the ex-chief minister who was rendered nonfunctional after the imposition of governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and four other PTI leaders in the <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/2036953">Radio Pakistan attack case</a>.</p> <p>The prosecution had earlier placed the supplementary charge-sheet on the court record, but the hearing was adjourned until Oct 28 due to the judge’s absence.</p> <p>Besides Mr Afridi, the supplementary challan names former provincial ministers Taimoor Saleem Jhagra and Kamran Bangash, PTI Peshawar district president Irfan Saleem and party activist Amir Khan Chamkani. None of them was initially named in the FIR or the charge-sheet.</p> <p>When the matter came up for hearing on Wednesday, Judge Wali Mohammad Khan directed the issuance of warrants as the five newly nominated accused have yet to be arrested.</p> <p>The court order stated that the police had submitted a supplementary charge-sheet against the five accused, who had not been arrested, and directed that warrants be issued under Section 204 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.</p> <p>Senior lawyer Shabbir Hussain Gigyani appeared for the Pakis­tan Broadcasting Corporation, while senior public prosecutor Manzoor Alam Khan represented the state. Advocate Ali Zaman appeared for the accused.</p> <p>The charge-sheet follows findings by the Punjab Forensic Science Agency and Nadra concerning video clips purportedly showing the incident and profile pictures of the suspects.</p> <p>According to investigation officer DSP Khushal Khan’s report, Radio Pakistan Peshawar station director Tufail Ahmad recorded a supplementary statement in light of the forensic findings, nominating the five men as accused.</p> <p>The forensic examination was ordered on Dec 12, 2025, on an application filed by Mr Gigyani. The PFSA subsequently concluded that the facial features of the five men matched those of suspects seen allegedly participating in the rioting in the video footage. Nadra’s report identified CNIC numbers apparently belonging to the men and described them as probable matches for the profile pictures submitted for examination.</p> <p>While Mr Gigyani maintained that the footage related to the attack on the Radio Pakistan building, PTI leaders questioned its authenticity, arguing that the clips did not pertain to the May 10, 2023, incident, which occurred after the arrest of former prime minister and PTI founder Imran Khan.</p> <p>After the directive for the issuance of arrest warrants, the court fixed Nov 4 for the next hearing.</p> <p>Meanwhile, a petition challenging Mr Afridi’s alleged illegal detention or enforced disappearance remains pending before the Peshawar High Court.</p> <p><em>Published in Dawn, October 29th, 2026</em></p> This development from dawn.com highlights ongoing changes in the sector.