The Abdul Majeed Achakzai sentence, handed down by the Balochistan High Court, is 10 years' rigorous imprisonment for the death of traffic sub-inspector Attaullah. Attaullah was hit by a car in Quetta in June 2017. The court also ordered Achakzai, a former member of a provincial assembly (MPA), to pay blood money to the heirs of the deceased and directed that he be arrested and sent to jail immediately. The ruling was announced on 10 November 2026.
What the court ruled
A bench of Justice Muhammad Amir Nawaz Rana and Justice Abdul Qayyum Lehri accepted a government appeal against the acquittal. That acquittal had been ordered by an Additional Sessions Judge's court on 4 September 2020. The High Court found Achakzai guilty under section 320 of the Pakistan Penal Code, the country's main criminal law, and the Abdul Majeed Achakzai sentence rests on that finding.
Rigorous imprisonment is a term under Pakistani law meaning imprisonment with hard labour. Diyat is compensation paid to the heirs of a person who has been killed, and the court has ordered Achakzai to pay it. The court also issued non-bailable arrest warrants, which means bail is not granted as of right. No public response from Achakzai has been reported so far.
Because the High Court has set aside the earlier acquittal, the lower court's finding of innocence no longer stands. The order now sets out both the prison term and the steps that follow from it.
The 2017 Quetta case
The incident took place in June 2017 in Quetta. Attaullah, a traffic police sub-inspector, was on duty in the middle of a highway when a car struck him, and he died. The vehicle was linked to Achakzai, who was arrested in connection with the death.
Achakzai was later released on bail. He remained free after the 2020 acquittal until the government's appeal was heard and accepted by the High Court.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- June 2017: Traffic sub-inspector Attaullah dies in Quetta after a car hits him while he is on duty on a highway.
- 4 September 2020: An Additional Sessions Judge's court acquits Abdul Majeed Achakzai.
- 10 November 2026: The Balochistan High Court sets aside the acquittal and sentences him to 10 years' rigorous imprisonment.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Balochistan High Court ne sabiq MPA Abdul Majeed Achakzai ko Quetta mein traffic sub-inspector Attaullah ki halakat ke case mein 10 saal qaid-e-bamashaqqat ki saza sunai hai. Adalat ne 2020 mein di gayi bari'at khatam kar di aur unhe foran giraftar kar ke jail bhejne ka hukm diya hai. Maqtool ke warison ko diyat ada karne ka hukm bhi diya gaya hai. Aam logon ke liye iska matlab yeh hai ke sarak par duty dene wale traffic police ke case mein nau saal se zyada ke baad adalat ne faisla sunaya hai.
