A sessions court in Karachi on Friday rejected the post-arrest bail plea of Natasha Danish, the driver involved in the Karsaz Road accident, in connection with a drug case.
On August 19, Danish, driving a speeding Toyota Land Cruiser, collided with three motorcycles and another vehicle on Karsaz Road, resulting in the deaths of 60-year-old Imran Arif and his 22-year-old daughter, Amna. Three others were also injured in the incident. Danish was arrested at the scene and charged with manslaughter.
Last week, Danish was granted bail in the manslaughter case after the victims’ family pardoned her without seeking any compensation. However, her bail request in a separate drug-related case was denied earlier this week by Judicial Magistrate Muhammad Raza Ansari.
Following this denial, Danish’s counsel, Aamir Mansoob Qureshi, appealed the decision before Additional District and Sessions Judge (East) Shahid Ali Memon. The court reserved its verdict two days ago after hearing arguments from both the defense and the state prosecutor. Today, Judge Memon announced the rejection of Danish’s bail application.
During the proceedings, Danish’s lawyer argued that only one case should be registered for a single incident, emphasizing that both the manslaughter and drug charges stemmed from the same event. On the other hand, state prosecutor Syed Khursheed Abbas Bukhari opposed the bail, citing the ongoing investigation and the absence of a final charge sheet.
Danish was initially booked for manslaughter following the August 19 accident. However, a medical report requested by the victims’ counsel revealed that she was under the influence of crystal meth at the time of the incident. This led to a second first information report (FIR) being filed by Bahadurabad police, charging Danish under Section 11 (drinking liable to tazir) of the Prohibition (Enforcement of Hadd) Order, 1979 (PEHO).
Judicial Magistrate Ansari had previously rejected Danish’s bail in the drug case, stating that her defense team failed to adequately address the charges under Section 11 of PEHO.
