PESHAWAR: An investigation officer has informed the Peshawar High Court that the identity of the assailants who abducted provincial minister Fazal Shakoor couldn’t be ascertained from the purported videos available on social media.

A bench consisting of Justice Ijaz Anwar and Justice Inamullah Khan was told by the IO Haleem Gul that no USB drive had been provided to him.

He, however, stated that he saw some videos on social media, procured the same, and examined them. He stated that the identity of the assailants/abductors could not be ascertained from the said videos.

The bench directed the petitioner’s counsel, Muhammad Inam Yousafzai and Bashir Khan Wazir, to provide a USB drive (having videos of the occurrence) to the investigation officer, and place the progress, if any, in the investigation before the court in the shape of a report.

The bench fixed Oct 21 for the next hearing of the petition filed by Mr Shakoor’s brother Anwar Aziz against his alleged abduction by unidentified armed men on Sept 21 near Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway Toll Plaza.

The petitioner has sought recovery of his brother, who, according to him, was abducted in broad daylight from a thickly populated area near the entry/exit point of the Motorway.

Published in Dawn, October 10th, 2026