An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Peshawar on Saturday initiated proceedings to declare Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) social media activist Aamir Chamkani absconders in connection with the attack, vandalism and arson at Radio Pakistan Peshawar during the May 9 and 10 unrest.
The court ordered the issuance of notices under Section 87 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) after police reported that the two accused could not be located despite efforts to execute their arrest warrants.
The development came during a hearing of the Radio Pakistan attack case, in which Afridi, Chamkani, Rahman Jalal, Abbas, Attaullah, Hamza Ghazanfar, Haroon, Mashhood Hassan, Khalid Khan Afridi and several others have been nominated.
During the proceedings, Detective Foot Constable Muhammad Iqbal of East Cantonment Police Station informed the court that arrest warrants issued against Afridi and Chamkani under Section 204 of the CrPC could not be executed despite repeated efforts.
After examining the police report, the court directed the authorities to issue notices under Section 87 against both accused, initiating the legal process for declaring them absconders.
The court also ordered that a notice be issued to the relevant police official to record a confirmatory statement regarding the unsuccessful attempts to execute the warrants.
According to the prosecution, the notices will be displayed at the residences and offices of Afridi and Chamkani to inform them of the proceedings and require their appearance before the court.
If the accused fail to appear despite the notices, further proceedings under Section 512 of the CrPC could follow, with the prosecution indicating that permanent arrest warrants may subsequently be issued.
The proceedings relate to the violence that erupted at Radio Pakistan Peshawar during the May 9 and 10 protests, when the building was attacked and subjected to vandalism and arson.
Several PTI figures and activists have been named in the case, which remains under consideration before the anti-terrorism court.
Separately, former provincial ministers Irfan Saleem, Kamran Bangash and Taimur Saleem appeared before the court in connection with their interim bail proceedings.
Their lawyer, Inamullah Yousafzai, submitted an application concerning their attendance during the hearing.
The court’s latest order advances the legal proceedings against Afridi and Chamkani but does not constitute a final determination of their guilt in the Radio Pakistan attack case.