Relatives of a father-daughter duo have forgiven a female from a wealthy, influential Pakistani business family here who ran down a luxurious SUV over them, her lawyer said on Friday.
The incident drew widespread condemnation as the two killed came from lower middle class. The rich lady also injured three other motorcyclists on the main Karsaz Road in the city as she lost control of her car.
The accident on August 19 garnered lot of attention on social media and became a raging debate on television channels as videos of Natasha Danish appearing disoriented and unrepentant over her actions went viral.
As Natasha Danish hit Imran Arif and his daughter Amna Arif from behind, their motorcycle went flying, according to videos of the incident shared on social media and by the police.
Imran used to sell papers to shops while his daughter was employed in a private firm.
After the hearing at a Sessions Court earlier on Friday, Barrister Uzair Ghouri, representing the bereaved families, told the media outside the court that they (the families) had forgiven the driver in the name of Allah.
The defence lawyer had claimed after the incident that the accused had mental health issues and was under treatment since 2005.
The victims’ family submitted an affidavit in the court forgiving the accused.
The agreement between the affected families and the accused were presented in the court of a judicial magistrate where the case was under trial, after which the accused was granted bail.
Soon after social media erupted with blames that the family accepted blood money.
“The bereaved families have forgiven the accused in the name of Allah and it is baseless rumours that they have taken blood money (Diyat in Islamic Shariah laws) to forgive her for the deaths,” he said.
In Pakistan, under Sharia laws, a victim’s family/heirs can forgive an accused even if he or she has caused deaths.
The law is called Qisas and Diyat law. Qisas, defined as “punishment by causing similar hurt at the same part of the body of the convict,” and diyat meaning, “compensation … payable to the heirs of the victims.” “The court has released Natasha on bail, she can go anywhere in the world,” said defence lawyer barrister Amir Mansoob.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
