The Balochistan High Court on Tuesday sentenced former provincial lawmaker and Public Accounts Committee chairman Abdul Majeed Achakzai to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment. The court convicted Achakzai under Section 320 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) for causing the death of traffic sub-inspector Haji Ataullah by driving recklessly and negligently at high speed.
A division bench, consisting of Justice Muhammad Aamir Nawaz Rana and Justice Abdul Qayyum Lehri, accepted an appeal filed by the provincial government. The court set aside an acquittal verdict delivered on September 4, 2020, by the Additional Sessions Judge-VI and Model Criminal Trial Court-II in Quetta. In addition to the prison term, the court ordered Achakzai to pay blood money (diyat) to the legal heirs of the deceased officer.
The court directed the Additional Sessions Judge-VI, Quetta, to issue non-bailable arrest warrants for Achakzai, who is currently out on bail, to ensure his immediate arrest and the execution of the sentence.
The incident occurred on June 20, 2017, at GPO Chowk on Zarghoon Road in Quetta. According to reports, a speeding official Land Cruiser belonging to Achakzai hit traffic sergeant Haji Ataullah Dashti while he was on duty. Dashti sustained serious injuries and later died, while a cyclist, Abdul Ghafoor Baloch, was also injured.
Sources state that Achakzai allegedly ran over the sergeant after the officer signaled him to stop. While the incident was initially treated as a traffic accident involving unidentified persons, CCTV footage of the crash went viral on social media. The footage showed the vehicle hitting the officer following an exchange of words. Reports also suggested Achakzai may have been intoxicated and driving recklessly at the time.
Following the emergence of the footage, police registered a case against Achakzai for terrorism, murder, and attempted murder. He was arrested from his residence in Quetta's Satellite Town area on June 25, 2017. The terrorism charge was later withdrawn after police failed to establish it.
Achakzai, who was elected to the Balochistan Assembly from PB-13 Qila Abdullah in the 2013 general elections, admitted to driving his official vehicle during the incident. He stated he would compensate the family of the deceased and the injured passerby.
The case remained under trial for approximately three years. On September 4, 2020, Judge Dost Muhammad Mandokhail acquitted Achakzai, ruling that the prosecution failed to prove he was the driver. The 29-page judgment noted that none of the 20 prosecution witnesses identified Achakzai as the driver and that police failed to conduct an identification parade. Achakzai had denied the allegations during his statement under Section 342 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, claiming his driver was behind the wheel.
