QUETTA: An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Balochistan on Friday released Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) Abdul Majeed Khan Achakzai, who had been arrested on charges of running over a traffic policeman in Quetta earlier this year, on bail.
The court hearing the case had granted bail to Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) lawmaker a day earlier after ordering him to submit a Rs 0.5 million surety bond.
After posting bail, Jail Superintendent Ishaq Zehri escorted Achakzai out of jail, where PkMAP workers were present in large numbers to greet their leader. The party workers and close associates present outside the jail showered the MPA with rose petals and chanted slogans in his favour. The unfortunate incident took place on June 20 when a speeding official vehicle, belonging to Achakzai, directly hit Dashti, leaving him seriously injured. Dashti, later, succumbed to his injuries. A cyclist, Abdul Ghafoor Baloch was also injured by Achakzai’s vehicle. Achakzai allegedly ran over the warden after the latter ordered him to stop at GPO Chowk, which lies in the maximum security area of Balochistan’s capital, on June 20.
Achakzai, who is also chairman of the Public Accounts Committee of Balochistan Assembly, admitted that he was driving his official vehicle when the accident took place. In mid-September this year, the case was transferred from the Balochistan High Court (BHC) to an anti-terrorism court in Balochistan. ATC Judge Dawood Kahn Nasr On Thursday accepted the bail application and granted him bail in the hit and run case as police produced Achakzai before the court amid tight security.
Published in Daily Times, December 30th 2017.
