PESHAWAR/LAHORE: A detailed forensic report by the Punjab Forensic Science Laboratory on videos and audiovisual material related to the violent incidents of May 9 in Peshawar has come to surface confirming the presence of several prominent political figures during the events.
When contacted regarding the forensic report, senior officials of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and police neither confirmed nor denied the report, stating that they could not offer any comments on the matter.
According to sources, the report was prepared at the request of Peshawar Police. A total of 16 videos provided by Police Station Sharqi, Peshawar, were submitted on a USB device and examined frame by frame through forensic analysis. The report states that no evidence of editing or manipulation was found in most of the videos, although in a few clips signs of joining video segments and the addition of logos or text were detected.
The forensic analysis confirms the presence of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Kamran Bangash, former provincial minister Taimur Jhagra and Irfan Saleem in the videos related to the May 9 incidents. The laboratory matched the individuals seen in the footage with their respective profile photographs using facial comparison techniques.
According to the report, videos related to Sohail Afridi and Irfan Saleem showed evidence of clip joining. Despite this, the laboratory concluded through profile matching that the individuals appearing in the videos and their profile images belonged to the same persons. The report further confirms that the profile images of Kamran Bangash and Taimur Jhagra also matched the individuals visible in the footage.
The Punjab Forensic Science Laboratory clarified that the analysis was strictly limited to visual material and did not include audio content or background circumstances. The forensic examination was carried out between December 19 and December 23, 2025.
It is noteworthy that an Anti-Terrorism Court had sought a forensic report in the case related to the attack on Radio Pakistan, Peshawar. Following the court order, Peshawar police sent the video material to the Punjab Forensic Science Laboratory for analysis. With the report now surfacing, legal proceedings in the case are expected to move forward.
Sources say preparations are under way to make the forensic report part of the judicial record, while relevant authorities are deliberating the next course of action.
Meanwhile, former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa finance minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra has strongly rejected allegations circulating in the media linking him to the Radio Pakistan Peshawar case, calling the narrative misleading and contrary to court records.
In a detailed response, Jhagra told this correspondent that the main case registered in Peshawar regarding the events of May 9 and 10, 2023 had already been decided after a full trial, resulting in acquittal. He said the prosecution case collapsed during proceedings and described the judgment as a clear reflection of the weakness of allegations.
Addressing FIR No 221 related to the attack on Radio Pakistan, Peshawar, Jhagra clarified that he is neither nominated in the FIR nor in any supplementary charges. He added that the case has already gone to trial and, to his knowledge, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leaders Kamran Bangash, Irfan Saleem and Chief Minister Sohail Afridi are also not nominated or under investigation in the case.
Jhagra criticised what he termed a renewed media campaign based on selected video clips emerging more than two and a half years after the incident. He said presenting random videos as evidence amounted to a media trial rather than a serious legal effort to prosecute any crime.
He further questioned the relevance of screenshots and video clips being circulated on social media, saying they had no connection with the Radio Pakistan incident. According to him, the Punjab Forensic Science Laboratory report appears to comment only on the technical authenticity of certain videos, not on their legal relevance or linkage to the Radio Pakistan attack.
Jhagra clarified that one video attributed to him was neither recorded in Peshawar nor filmed on May 10, the day the Radio Pakistan building was set on fire. He said the footage showed his condemnation of the arrest of Imran Khan on May 9 while he was in Islamabad.
The former minister also pointed out that the current narrative selectively targets the chief minister and other individuals who were never nominated or investigated in the Radio Pakistan case, raising questions about the motives behind the campaign.
He maintained that court judgments, official records and due process should take precedence over speculation and politically driven narratives.
Meanwhile, Punjab Minister for Information and Culture Azma Bokhari has said “the incidents involving arson attacks on Radio Pakistan, toll plazas and ambulances by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf in Peshawar” were part of a well-planned conspiracy, as 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 added.
“The evidence related to the May 9 incidents has already been presented before the nation earlier, but the PTI leadership, true to its past conduct, chose to deny facts and fabricate false narratives,” Ms Bokhari said, adding: “Lying is not merely a habit of PTI; it has become a chronic disease from which they appear unwilling and unable to recover.”
The minister alleged that the individuals who stormed the Jinnah House and carried out vandalism were not ordinary people, but office-bearers and ticket holders of the PTI. “Despite this, a persistent false narrative was promoted, branding the events as a so-called ‘false flag operation’. Even the party’s founder had publicly stated that he would apologise if incontrovertible evidence emerged — yet despite evidence surfacing repeatedly, there has been no remorse or acceptance,” she said.
She further stated that the Punjab Forensic Science Laboratory was among Asia’s most credible forensic institutions. “The report includes complete forensic analysis of the Peshawar incidents, supported by videos and photographic evidence, clearly documenting the torching of Radio Pakistan, attacks on multiple toll plazas, and the burning of ambulances — all of which constitute grave criminal acts,” she added.
She 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.
“The politics of abusing, intimidating, and blackmailing the state through lies will no longer be tolerated. The law will take its own course,” Ms Bokhari concluded.
