QUETTA: The Balochistan High Court on Tuesday handed former MPA Abdul Majeed Achakzai a 10-year sentence in a case regarding the death of a traffic policeman in a hit-andrun accident.
Traffic sergeant Ataullah was killed when a fast-moving vehicle being driven by MPA Abdul Majeed Achakzai hit him at GPO Chowk in Quetta in June 2017.
A division bench comprising Justice Muhammad Amir Nawaz Rana and Justice Abdul Qayyum Lehr allowed an appeal filed by the provincial government against Achakzai’s acquittal and set aside the local court decision dated September 4, 2020.
Achakzai was convicted under Section 320 (punishment for gatl-ikhata by rash or negligent driving) of thePakistanPenalCode(PPC)forcausing the death of Traffic Sub-Inspector Haji Ataullah.
He was also ordered to pay diyat to the legal heirs of the deceased.
Furthermore, the court directed the learned Additional Sessions Judge-VI, Quetta, to issue non-bailable warrantsfor Achakzai’s immediate arrest.
The former lawmaker was returning from the Balochistan Assembly after attending a session when his vehicle hit the traffic policeman, who was performinghis duty at the place.
The traffic policeman suffered serious injuries and later died at the hospital.
Initially, police had registered an accident case against unidentified persons. But after the CCTV footage of the accident went viral on social media and was repeatedly shown by TV channels, Balochistan police lodged a manslaughter case against the former MPA, who belongs to the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP).
Achakzai was granted bail by an antiterrorism court (ATC) six months later.
However, in 2020, a local court in Quetta acquitte d him in the case. Subsequently, Quetta police filed an appeal against the acquittal.
Achakzai is a close relative of opposition leader and PkMAP chairman Mahmood Khan Achakzai. He was elected to the Balochistan Assembly twice and remained a minister in the provincial cabinet. He also served as chairman of the provincial assembly’s Public Accounts Committee.