The Punjab Forensic Science Laboratory (PFSL) has completed a verification report of video footage related to the May 9 incidents in Peshawar, confirming the presence of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi in the recorded material, along with Kamran Bangash, Taimur Jhagra and Irfan Saleem.
According to the forensic report, PFSL conducted a detailed audio-visual analysis of videos provided by Peshawar Police following a request from the authorities. The report is based on 16 video clips contained in a USB drive submitted by Police Station Sharqi, Peshawar.
The laboratory carried out frame-by-frame analysis of the footage. While several videos showed no signs of tampering, some clips indicated insertions of people and text, and in two videos featuring CM Afridi and Irfan Saleem, evidence of clip splicing was detected.
The report states that the profile photographs of Sohail Afridi, Irfan Saleem, Kamran Bangash and Taimur Jhagra were matched with individuals appearing in the videos. In all four cases, the individuals in the footage were confirmed to be the same persons as in their respective profile images.
The forensic review was conducted between December 19 and December 23, 2025, and the analysis was limited strictly to the visual content, the report added.
The Anti-Terrorism Court had earlier directed the police to obtain the forensic report in connection with the Radio Pakistan attack case.
Meanwhile, Peshawar Police have begun consultations on nominating CM Afridi as an accused after the findings of Punjab Forenic Science Laboratory. Members of the investigation team said the investigation officer and SSP Investigation have briefed the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa IG, and legal assistance has been sought from the police’s legal branch.
Investigators confirmed that a detailed review of the PFSL report is under way and that the police are now obligated to submit a supplementary challan in the case.
The FIR related to the Radio Pakistan attack was registered at Police Station Sharqi, and the USB containing footage of the chief minister’s alleged presence had been sent to the PFSL for verification.
The forensic report was received by police three days ago and it was formally submitted to the court.
Reacting to the development, Punjab Minister for Information and Culture Azma Bokhari said that the incidents involving arson attacks on Radio Pakistan building, toll plazas, and ambulances by the PTI in Peshawar on May 9, 2023, were part of a “well-planned conspiracy and irrefutable evidence has now surfaced in the Punjab Forensic Science Laboratory report.”
“The planning was carried out by the same elements involved in the violence, and their statements – including those of Murad Saeed – are on record,” she said.
Bokhari added that evidence related to the May 9 incidents had already been presented before the nation earlier, but the “PTI leadership, true to its past conduct, chose to deny facts and fabricate false narratives.”
The minister emphasised that the individuals who stormed Jinnah House and engaged in vandalism were not ordinary people, but official office bearers and ticket holders of PTI.”
“It clearly documents the torching of Radio Pakistan, attacks on multiple toll plazas, and the burning of ambulances – all of which constitute grave criminal acts,” she said.
The PML-N stalwart categorically stated that all this evidence was admissible in any court of law, and those involved in rioting, vandalism, and damage to state property will be brought to justice.
Moreover, the investigation into the ruckus that broke out on the arrival of Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sohail Afridi in the Punjab Assembly has been formally launched.