In a significant development, a judicial magistrate in Karachi’s District East acquitted a female driver on Friday in a narcotics case filed after the fatal Karsaz road accident, due to insufficient evidence. The prosecution was unable to substantiate the allegations against the accused throughout the trial.
The defense counsel contended that neither chemical analysis nor blood tests detected methamphetamine—commonly referred to as crystal meth or ice—in the samples taken. Furthermore, the lawyer claimed that the police had tampered with the samples collected from the accused and accused the investigating officer of withholding the blood test report during the investigation.
After reviewing the evidence, the court found it inadequate to support the prosecution’s claims and consequently acquitted the accused in the narcotics case.
The incident took place on August 19, 2024, when the suspect’s luxury vehicle collided with multiple cars near the Pakistan Maritime Museum. The crash resulted in the deaths of 26-year-old Aamna Arif and her 60-year-old father, Imran Arif. Several others sustained injuries and were transported to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) for treatment, while the deceased were brought to the hospital for medico-legal procedures.
The female driver also suffered a head injury in the accident and underwent a CT scan at JPMC. Blood and urine samples were collected from her as part of the medico-legal examination. On August 31, 2024, police announced that methamphetamine had been detected in her blood and urine samples, leading to a separate case being registered against her under laws prohibiting the use of controlled substances.
Notably, this acquittal is distinct from the murder case related to the deaths of Aamna and Imran Arif. In October 2024, a district and sessions court acquitted the female driver in the murder case after the victims’ families submitted a reconciliation agreement. The heirs of the victims had pardoned the accused and informed the court they had no objections to her bail, emphasizing that the accident was not deliberate.
