Claim: Natasha Danish, identified as the driver of the SUV involved in the fatal Karsaz incident that resulted in two deaths, has reportedly left the country.
Fact: Natasha has been sent to jail on a 14-day judicial remand and has not left the country.
On Tuesday, 19 August 2024, a woman driving an SUV, killed two people and injured three others. Natasha Danish — the wife of Gul Ahmed Energy Limited CEO Danish Iqbal — crashed into five people on Karsaz road in broad daylight. This incident led to the confirmed deaths of two people, a father and daughter. One of the people injured is hospitalised in critical condition, according to some reports. The family of the deceased Amna Arif and her father Imran Arif is pursuing the case in court.
Natasha Danish has been booked under sections 320 (punishment for qatl-i-khata by rash or negligent driving), 337-G (punishment for hurt by rash or negligent driving), 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way) and 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees) of the Pakistan Penal Code.
On 28 August 2024, Dawn reported the Sindh Inspector General (IG) of Polie Ghulam Bani Memon said that Natasha’s medical reports show she was driving under the influence of crystal meth (methamphetamine).
On 21 August 2024, several social media users claimed on Facebook and X that the woman driver in the Karsaz road incident had fled the country.
Theses posts shared a photograph of Natasha, her husband and their daughter, captioned as follows:
مبارک ہو پاکستانیو
نتاشہ بیگم زوجہ دانش اقبال پانچ لوگوں کو جن میں ایک باپ بیٹی شامل ہیں کچلنے کے بعد دوبئی پہنچ گئی ہیں
شنید ہے کہ متوفین کے ورثاء کو دو دو کروڑ اور زخمیوں کو پچاس پچاس لاکھ روپے دئیے گئے ہیں
چونکہ دانش اقبال ایک انرجی گروپ گُل احمد کے مالک ہیں تو یہ غالباً قوم سے IPPs کی مدّ میں بٹورا ہوا پیسہ ہے۔ ہمیں فخر ہونا چاہئے کہ اس کارِ خیر میں ہم بحیثیت قوم شامل ہیں
بچو! بجاؤ تالی ۔۔۔۔۔ شاباش
[Translation: Congratulations to all Pakistanis! Natasha Begum, wife of Danish Iqbal, who crushed five people to death, two of whom were a father and daughter, has fled to Dubai. It is being heard that the family members of those who died, have been given 2 crore each and the injured have been given 50 lacs each. Since Danish Iqbal owns an energy group, Gul Ahmed, this is probably the money collected from the people as an IPP. We should be grateful to be a part of such a noble deed. Children! Clap your hands. Well done.]
Fact or Fiction?
On 21 August 2024, Dawn News reported that Natasha was sent to jail on judicial remand by Karachi’s city court, following the Karsaz incident. Correspondent Shafi Baloch reported for Dawn, and captured footage of Natasha being taken out of a police van by policewomen.
Articles reporting the same were also published by Dawn, Geo, AAJ and Dunya News. These articles clarify that on Tuesday, 20 August, the Karachi East court sent the driver to jail on a one-day physical remand. On Wednesday, she was produced in court with a medical report.
According to the copy of the court order, Dawn reported, investigation officer Rehan Ahmed failed to produce the suspect before the special duty judicial magistrate because she was admitted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre’s (JPMC) psychiatry department.
Soch Fact Check reached out to Advocate Aamir Mansoob, the legal counsel for Natasha Danish. He shared with us a copy of the most recent court order from 21 August 2024. In the seventh paragraph, it states “Mst. Natasha, w/o Danish, is hereby remanded to judicial custody.” Mansoob explained that this means she is in police custody until the next hearing which is set for 14 days after the FIR was filed, which is 14 September 2024.
We also reached out to court reporter Amin Anwar from GEO News who first reported that she was sent to jail. Anwar confirmed that the above court order is indeed legitimate and that Natasha was sent to the women’s part of Karachi Central Jail for 14 days under judicial custody.
Soch Fact Check also got in touch with the Women and Children Protection Cell (WCPC) of Karachi Police (KPO) Bahadurabad. They also confirmed that Natasha Danish was indeed in jail.
Virality
On Facebook, we found that the claim was shared here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. One of the posts on Facebook appeared to have been directly shared from WhatsApp as it contained the phone number of the sender and the timestamp of the message in the same format as it appears in WhatsApp copied text.
On X, we found that the claim was shared here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here, viewed more than 161,000 times.
Conclusion: Natasha Danish, the perpetrator in the Karsaz road incident has not fled the country.
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Background image in cover photo: Dialogue Pakistan
To appeal against our fact-check, please send an email to appeals@sochfactcheck.com
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CORRECTION: This article was corrected on 20 September 2024 to reflect the accurate date on which the incident occurred, it was changed from 20 August to 19 August 2024.