KARACHI: A judicial magistrate in Karachi’s District East on Friday acquitted the female driver in a narcotics case registered following the deadly Karsaz road accident, citing lack of evidence.
The court acquitted the accused after the prosecution failed to establish the charges against her during the proceedings.
Defence counsel argued that neither the chemical analysis nor the blood test detected methamphetamine, commonly known as crystal meth or ice, in the samples collected from the accused.
The lawyer further alleged that samples collected by police had been tampered with and claimed that the investigating officer concealed the blood test report during the investigation.
After reviewing the evidence, the court concluded that the prosecution had failed to establish its case and acquitted the accused in the narcotics case.
The accident occurred on August 19, 2024, when the suspect’s luxury vehicle crashed into several vehicles near the Pakistan Maritime Museum in Karachi.
The crash killed 26-year-old Aamna Arif and her 60-year-old father, Imran Arif.
Several other people were injured and taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) for treatment, while the bodies of the deceased were brought to the hospital for medico-legal formalities.
The female driver also sustained a head injury in the crash and underwent a CT scan at JPMC. Blood and urine samples were subsequently collected from her as part of the medico-legal examination.
On August 31, 2024, police said methamphetamine had been detected in the suspect’s blood and urine samples. A separate case was subsequently registered against her under provisions relating to the use of a prohibited substance.
The latest acquittal concerns only the narcotics case and is separate from the murder case registered over the deaths of Aamna and Imran.
In October 2024, a district and sessions court acquitted the female driver in the murder case after the victims’ families submitted a reconciliation agreement.
Earlier, the heirs of the victims had pardoned the accused and told the court that they had no objection to her being granted bail, maintaining that the accident had not been intentional.
