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Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi addresses the Khyber Peace Jirga on Sunday. Photo: X
PESHAWAR:
An anti-terrorism court (ATC) was told on Wednesday that police wanted to nominate Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Sohail Afridi as accused in a case related to an attack on Radio Pakistan in Peshawar on May 9, 2023 but the prosecution was creating hurdles.
Counsel for Radio Pakistan, Shabbir Hussain Gigyani, Special Prosecutor Naumanul Haq Kakakhel and Investigation Officer (IO) Inspector Khushhal Khan, appeared before the ATC on Wednesday.
The lawyer for Radio Pakistan informed the court that the IO intended to submit a supplementary challan, which included the names of CM Afridi, former provincial ministers Taimur Saleem Jhagra and Kamran Bangash, PTI Peshawar president Irfan Saleem and party worker Amir Chamkani.
He said the additional nominations were made based on reports from the Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA) and the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), but the prosecutor was refusing to receive the challan for placement on record.
He submitted an application in the ATC seeking contempt of court proceedings against the district public prosecutor and the CTD senior prosecutor for failing to submit the challan to the court.
In the petition, the applicant argued that despite identifying the accused through forensic and NADRA reports, the prosecution had not yet filed the challan in court.
He stated that the police had already submitted the case file to the district public prosecutor, but it had remained pending there and had not been forwarded to the court.
The petition contended that the district public prosecutor was delaying the case and requested the court to direct the relevant authorities to submit the challan and proceed in accordance with the law.
The ATC asked the IO to submit the supplementary challan through proper channel as it issued notices to the prosecution on the contempt plea and directed submission of a report by March 17.
In a written order, the court noted that the IO sought additional time to submit the challan, while the Radio Pakistan lawyer filed a contempt of court petition against the district public prosecutor, the CTD senior prosecutor and the investigation officer.
Later talking to the media, counsel for Radio Pakistan said provincial ministers and lawmakers had been nominated in the case following forensic and identification reports.
“The police have now completed their investigation and sent the case file to the prosecution, but the district public prosecutor has kept the file and has not forwarded it for further proceedings,” he said, urging the prosecution to perform its duties in accordance with the law.
