Asif Mahmood
The latest development is that the Punjab Forensic Science Laboratory has completed its verification report on video footage related to the May 9 incidents in Peshawar. The report confirms that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, along with Kamran Bangash, Taimur Jhagra, and Irfan Saleem, are among the individuals visible in the videos. This raises a fundamental question for Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf. What has its strategy, so far, actually delivered for the party.
PTI cannot move forward without exiting the whirlpool of May 9. Without shedding this burden, progress appears impossible. From the very first day, it was evident that what happened on May 9 was not politics. It was a grave and serious matter. The party leadership was given an opportunity the very next day in the Supreme Court when the Chief Justice himself allowed them to condemn the events. Had Imran Khan done so at that moment, the already tangled situation might not have worsened. But that did not happen. Instead, evasion followed, aided by the familiar force of post truth narratives. Claims were made that we were not there, that we had nothing to do with it. This was never going to be resolved so easily, a reality the PTI leadership failed to grasp. The burden remains on its shoulders, and as a result, national politics remains stuck in a vortex.
No major incident occurs in isolation. There is always a chain, a sequence, with each link connected to the next. May 9 was no exception. There were those who physically attacked and burned memorials of martyrs, and there were those who planned it. The striking similarity in the nature of the violence across different cities is itself telling. This was not a spontaneous emotional reaction. It was a premeditated plan whose final stage unfolded on May 9. Before that day, a narrative of hatred was carefully constructed. Hostility against state institutions was pushed to such an extreme that incidents of this nature became almost inevitable.
Everyone played a role. Some produced poisonous rhetoric. Some led the crowds. Some facilitated the protesters to reach sensitive locations. Some fueled the fire on social media. Others moved around in luxury vehicles, flashing victory signs and performing leadership roles. There is no escape from responsibility. What happened that day was witnessed by all. Rallies and marches have their own psychology. Provoking them is not difficult. Emotions, not reason, dominate such spaces. It is also not necessary that every individual present shares the same criminal intent or is fully aware of what is about to happen. In such circumstances, the greater and real responsibility lies with the decision makers. Here, the decision makers lit the fire. Some stood alongside them. Others provided live commentary. What we saw was chaos and sedition. It was not politics.
Martyrs’ memorials were desecrated. The list of actions that day is long and shameful. Anyone who believed that the law would simply smile and offer greetings in response was living in illusion. Clear condemnation and an apology were essential. On September 6, I wrote that there was still an opportunity. It was a matter of custom, tradition, and constitutional propriety for PTI to apologize, to lay flowers at the martyrs’ memorials, to express remorse. An apology would not have diminished the party. It would have elevated it. One may disagree with the government. One may question the role of the establishment. But the martyrs belong to everyone.
PTI has still not been able to take this step. The belief seemed to be that the judicial field had been set, that streams of justice would flow sweetly for years, and that lawyer leaders would protect the party. The outcome is now evident. Those lawyer leaders have reached parliament with the party’s support, but the party itself remains stuck where it was.
According to the latest forensic report, prepared on the request of Peshawar Police, a detailed audio and video analysis of sixteen video clips was conducted. These clips were provided via USB by Peshawar’s Sharqi police station. The laboratory carried out frame by frame examinations. Several videos showed no signs of tampering, while some contained evidence of inserted individuals and text. In two videos where Sohail Afridi and Irfan Saleem appear, evidence of splicing was also found. Profile photographs of Sohail Afridi, Irfan Saleem, Kamran Bangash, and Taimur Jhagra were compared with the individuals in the footage. In all four cases, the identities were confirmed. The forensic examination was conducted between December 19 and December 23, 2025, and was limited strictly to video material. Earlier, an anti terrorism court had directed the police to obtain a forensic report in the Radio Pakistan attack case. Following the release of this report, Peshawar Police have begun consultations on nominating Chief Minister Sohail Afridi as an accused. The investigation team has briefed the Inspector General of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and legal opinion is being sought from the police legal branch.
The region itself is already in a state of anxiety. The situation in Iran is before us. Yet within Pakistan, political tension continues to rise, and national politics refuses to rise above ego and personal pride. Every political position of PTI may have an explanation. Some of its grievances in political matters may even be legitimate. But what happened on May 9 has no justification and no moral defense. It was not politics. It was an act of disruption and disorder.