Natasha's family came to our house to seek forgiveness for her actions, says Amina Arif’s uncle

Imtiaz Arif, the plaintiff in the Karsaz accident case and the brother of deceased Imran Arif, revealed that the suspect Natasha Danish’s family had visited the victims’ home to seek forgiveness for her actions.

On Friday, the family of the deceased victims Imran Arif and daughter Amina Arif pardoned the accused driver Natasha Danish, who killed two people and injured three others during her reckless driving on a nearby lane at Karsaz in the port city.

Following an out-of-court settlement between the victims’s family and the suspect, Natasha was granted bail against a surety bond of Rs100,000, while her husband Danish Iqbal's bail was approved for Rs50,000.

In an interview with the BBC Urdu, Imtiaz Arif stated that the victims' family had forgiven Natasha ‘in the name of Allah’ and without seeking compensation or diyat.

He revealed that a few days ago, “Natasha's family visited my sister-in-law to express their condolences over the loss of her husband and daughter in the accident. They also sought forgiveness for Natasha's actions.”

“My sister-in-law has a kind and generous heart, she forgave Natasha,” he added.

He further said that the family members had three options including, qisas, diyat and pardon for Allah’s sake (Fi Sabilillah), out of which they chose the third option and forgave the accused without seeking any financial compensation.

He said that he was “grateful for the support of the people, but the decision had to be taken by the family.”

Background of the case:

The accused driver, Natasha Danish Iqbal, allegedly a member of the prominent Gul Ahmed family, was involved in a car accident on August 19 that resulted in the tragic deaths of two persons and left four others injured.

In the accident, Amna Arif, along with her father, lost her life when a speeding car driven by the suspect lost control and rammed into four motorcycles and two cars on Karsaz Road.

Four others were injured in the accident, out of which one was critically injured.

Abdus Salam, one of the four victims injured, was put on a ventilator after his condition deteriorated due to his injuries, according to family sources.

Following the incident, several Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) footage emerged in which the suspect was seen committing the crime.

Natasha was arrested by the police from the crime scene and was sent to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC) for a medical checkup.

According to sources, the woman was intoxicated at the time of the accident.

The suspect’s lawyer, Amir Mansoob, said his client was a psychiatric patient and had been under treatment for her condition for five years.

Natasha's counsel told the media that his client had no memory of the incident and was "not in the right frame of mind".

In response, the reporters asked why the family allowed the suspect to drive a car in such "a severe mental condition".

The lawyer claimed the family was unaware that Natasha had taken the car as "they had imposed restrictions on her due to her mental condition".

However, she was declared mentally fit by the psychiatrist of JPMC.

Later, the City Court in the port city sent Natasha to jail on a 14-day judicial remand on August 21.

On August 31, she was booked in another case for drug use. The case was registered at the Bahadurabad police station after the presence of banned drugs was confirmed in the urine and blood samples of the accused.

However, on September 2, the suspect was granted permission to appear in the court hearing via video link due to security reasons.

On August 4, she also filed a bail plea in the court citing her history of mental health issues and previous treatments from multiple psychiatrists. 

Later, the court issued notices to the relevant parties regarding her bail application.