Quetta court acquits Majeed Achakzai in vehicle tampering case

QUETTA: A local court on Saturday exonerated Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) Majeed Khan Achakzai in a vehicle tampering case related to the hit-and-run incident which resulted in the death of a on-duty traffic policeman.

Though the MPA was acquitted by Judicial Magistrate Muhammad Iqbal Khilji, the case is ongoing in an anti-terrorism court as it was registered under Section 322 (punishment for murder) of the Anti-Terrorism Act.

During Saturday’s proceedings, the MPA’s counsel said, “We have challenged the terrorism charge in a higher court because how can a traffic accident be considered a terrorist act”.

On June 20, 2017, Abdul Majeed Khan Achakzai’s vehicle rammed into Traffic Sub-Inspector Haji Ataullah along GPO Chowk intersection, while he was performing his duty in the middle of the road.

Sub-Inspector Haji Ataullah died instantly.

Before he was remanded, Achakzai had confessed to his involvement in the accident and claimed to have agreed to compensate the family members of the slain traffic policeman but the Civil Lines Police Station had still lodged an FIR [First Information Report] against ‘unknown individuals’.