Following a bus accident near the Balkasar interchange in Chakwal on a section of the motorway connecting Lahore to Islamabad on Sunday, an FIR has been registered against the owner, bus stand manager and driver of the Skyways bus company at Saddar police station of Chakwal under sections 279, 322, 337 G, 427 and 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Monday.
According to the FIR, Atif Nazir, the bus driver, left Lahore for Rawalpindi at 12:00 on Saturday night and reached Rawalpindi at 5:00 in the morning.
It has been further stated in the FIR that the company’s owner and the manager did not allow the driver to take rest and instead forced him to leave for Lahore only an hour after he reached Rawalpindi.
“Due to this, the driver felt tired and drowsy and he failed to control the vehicle. Consequently, the bus fell into a ditch near Balkasar, and nine people, including four children, lost their lives while 30 were injured,” read the FIR.
Two sisters from Lahore, 14-year-old Khadija and two-year-old Haram, and their eight-year-old brother Ahmad died in the accident, while their mother was seriously wounded.
31-year-old Umme Rabab from Lahore and her eight-month-old son Haider also perished in the incident, while her husband Mohsin and two-year-old daughter Abiha were injured.
Mohsin later said that he saw the driver driving the vehicle recklessly, which led to an accident.
Reporter: Mohsin Jaffery