QUETTA: The Balochistan High Court on Tuesday sentenced former provincial lawmaker Abdul Majeed Achakzai to 10 years in prison over a traffic policeman’s death, overturning his 2020 acquittal.
A division bench comprising Justice Muhammad Aamir Nawaz Rana and Justice Abdul Qayyum Lehri allowed the government’s appeal. It convicted Achakzai under Section 320 of the Pakistan Penal Code and ordered him to pay diyat, or compensation, to the deceased officer’s heirs.
Judges directed police to arrest Achakzai immediately and take him to prison to serve his sentence. They ordered the issuance of non-bailable arrest warrants.
Traffic Sub-Inspector Haji Ataullah died after a Land Cruiser struck him near GPO Chowk on Zarghoon Road on June 20, 2017. He was directing traffic in the provincial capital. Police said Achakzai had driven the vehicle rashly.
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Footage from a closed-circuit television camera circulated widely after the collision, prompting public demands for the lawmaker’s arrest. Police took him into custody on June 24, 2017.
However, a Quetta model court acquitted him on September 4, 2020, citing insufficient evidence. Tuesday’s ruling reverses that trial court decision after the government challenged the acquittal.
Section 320 addresses death caused by rash or negligent driving and provides for imprisonment alongside diyat. The compensation order forms part of the sentence and requires payment to Ataullah’s heirs.
Achakzai represented the PB-13 constituency in Qilla Abdullah as a member of the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party. He is a close relative of party chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai.
