Court finds prosecution failed to provide sufficient evidence; defence says blood and chemical tests showed no methamphetamine.
A judicial magistrate in Karachi’s District East has acquitted Natasha Danish in a separate narcotics case linked to the deadly 2024 Karsaz road accident, citing insufficient evidence.
The prosecution failed to establish the narcotics charges against Danish during the proceedings, according to the court ruling reported on Friday.
Defence challenges evidence
Danish’s lawyer argued that neither the chemical analysis nor the blood test detected methamphetamine, commonly referred to as crystal meth or “ice”, in the samples.
The defence further alleged that samples collected by police had been tampered with and claimed that the investigating officer had concealed the blood-test report during the investigation. These were defence allegations presented before the court and were not independently established by the ruling.
After examining the available evidence, the court concluded that the prosecution had not provided sufficient material to prove the narcotics charge and acquitted Danish in the case.
What happened in the Karsaz accident?
The original accident took place on August 19, 2024, on Karsaz Road near the Pakistan Maritime Museum in Karachi.
According to Geo News, the vehicle driven by Danish crashed into multiple vehicles, resulting in the deaths of Aamna Arif, 26, and her father Imran Arif, 60. Several other people were also injured and taken to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC).
Danish was also injured in the crash and underwent a CT scan at JPMC. Blood and urine samples were subsequently collected as part of the medico-legal examination.
Separate narcotics case
Police said on August 31, 2024, that methamphetamine had been detected in the suspect’s blood and urine samples. A separate case was subsequently registered under provisions relating to the use of a prohibited substance.
The narcotics proceedings were separate from the criminal case concerning the deaths caused by the accident.
Earlier acquittal in accident case
Danish had already been acquitted in the separate case concerning the deaths of Aamna and Imran.
In October 2024, a district and sessions court acquitted her after the victims’ families submitted a reconciliation agreement. The heirs had pardoned the accused and told the court they had no objection to her being granted bail, stating that the accident was not intentional.
Friday’s decision therefore concerns the separate narcotics case, rather than reopening or changing the earlier proceedings related to the fatal accident.
