Special Prosecutor defends move not to include name of PTI leaders in supplementary challan
KP CM Sohail Afridi. Photo: Screengrab
PESHAWAR:
A lawyer told an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Tuesday that there was insufficient evidence to include the name of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Sohail Afridi as an accused in the supplementary case in a case related to an attack on Radio Pakistan Peshawar on May 9, 2023.
Appearing before the ATC presided over by Justice Wali Muhammad, Special Prosecutor Naumanul Haq Kakakhel said the video evidence relied upon to implicate “certain persons” was not enough to sustain the case.
“The footage does not conclusively establish that it depicts the attack on Radio Pakistan. The videos only show similarity and do not conclusively prove that they relate to the attack,” he added.
According to Kakakhel, such material could not be treated as strong evidence to designate persons as accused. This, he said, is a crucial point preventing further progress in the case.
At the last hearing of the case, on March 11, Radio Pakistan lawyer Shabbir Hussain Gigyani and IO inspector Khushhal Khan sought contempt of court proceedings against the district public prosecutor and CTD senior prosecutor for failing to bring the case to court.
He had told the court that the IO intended to file a supplementary summons including the names of CM Afridi, former ministers Taimur Saleem Jhagra and Kamran Bangash, PTI Peshawar president Irfan Saleem and laborer Amir Chamkani, but the district attorney general delayed the matter
Citing the demand, the special prosecutor said a forensic report had been received which he sought to submit along with his statement. He requested the court to examine the report and allow the complainant’s counsel to raise objections, if any, during the next hearing.
Counsel for Radio Pakistan, Shabbir Hussain Gigyani, reiterated that the prosecution’s refusal to submit the supplementary statement was a hindrance.
Opposing the contempt plea, the Special Prosecutor maintained that the contempt petition was not maintainable and emphasized that the government was empowered under the law to appoint a special prosecutor in such cases. He cited provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, arguing that his role was legally valid.
During the hearing, Advocate General Shah Faisal also appeared and clarified that the government appointed the special prosecutor in the case in accordance with legal provisions.
Radio Pakistan’s counsel argued that investigative powers rested with the district public prosecutor, while the role of the special prosecutor was limited to conducting the trial.
However, the special prosecutor countered that his appointment empowered him to act in the case and that the court had not specifically directed the filing of a claim, but only sought a report already filed.
The ATC judge also summoned the district attorney, who informed the court that after the appointment of a special prosecutor, his office’s role in the case had effectively ceased.
After hearing arguments from all sides, the court ordered that any objections to the contempt petition be filed through proper pleadings and adjourned the hearing.
