Then who killed him?

It was a clear case of hit and run — witnessed by many present at the crime scene and captured on CCTV. The video clip of the offence went viral on social media and repeatedly aired by TV channels. So it was for all to see that a speeding four wheeler rammed into a traffic warden, who was busy minding the traffic on a Quetta road, and ran away. The warden, Haji Attaullah, suffered serious injuries and later died at a local hospital while the “offender”, Majeed Khan Achakzai — a sitting MPA at the time the incident occurred, in June 2017 — could only be arrested after several days. Three years later — on September 4, 2020 to be exact — Achakzai was acquitted by a model court in Quetta of the charge of manslaughter for want of evidence.

Achakzai was freed even though after the incident, he had appeared on some TV channels and admitted to driving the vehicle when the “accident” took place, expressing his desire to settle the issue with the victim’s family as per tribal traditions. This “confessional” statement on TV may not have been found solid enough an evidence to form basis for conviction, especially in a case involving a life lost, or the TV statement may not have been produced before the court by the prosecution. Furthermore, some unrevealed out-of-court settlement may have been reached between the two sides, and the crime may not have been proved beyond reasonable doubt.

Achakzai’s acquittal may have legal bases, but the question is: when it is established that a crime has been committed — a man has been hit to death — then there must have been somebody committing the crime too? The poor traffic cop must have been killed by somebody or the other. Will an answer to the very question be explored as the state goes into appeal against the acquittal?

Published in The Express Tribune, September 8^th, 2020.

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