ATC drops terrorism charge against ex-MPA in hit-and-run case

QUETTA: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Quetta on Thursday dropped terrorism charge against former Balochistan Assembly member Abdul Majeed Achakzai in a case pertaining to the killing of a traffic sergeant by his over-speeding vehicle, ARY News reported. 

ATC Judge Muneer Mari announced this verdict on a plea by Achakzai seeking deletion of section 7 of Anti-Terrorism Act against him.

Allowing the applicant’s request, the judge sent the case to a sessions court for trial.

Achakzai, who is out on bail, was booked for running over and killing traffic sub-inspector Haji Attaullah on June 20, 2o17 near GPO Chowk in Balochistan’s provincial capital.

Initially, the case was registered against unknown persons, but a video showing his vehicle running over the traffic officer emerged, prompting the police to arrest him. He was then released on bail against a surety bond of Rs5,00,000.

According to the police, traffic sergeant Attaullah died after hit by a rashly driven land cruiser while he was performing his duty at the GPO Chowk on Zarghoon Road.

Achakzai was later booked in two more cases – one pertaining to a kidnapping registered at the Satellite Town police station back in 2009.

It merits mention here that Majeed Achakzai is also a close relative of Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai.  He was an MPA from the PB-13 constituency in Qilla Abdullah district.