A remotely controlled car, a journalist in the passenger seat and one wrong turn — a demonstration of a Pakistani student’s experimental driverless vehicle ended with the car crashing into a parked police van in Islamabad.
A Pakistani journalist Muhammad Aalijah uploaded a video of the demonstration on Sunday, showing him sitting in the front passenger seat as the remotely controlled vehicle moved through Islamabad’s D-Chowk. The car suddenly turned towards a parked police vehicle, prompting Aalijah to pull the handbrake, but he could not stop the collision.
Aalijah was seated in the front passenger seat of the vehicle while demonstrating its automated driving technology. The car appeared to be controlled remotely as it moved forward, but its steering suddenly went out of control, and the vehicle collided with a police van parked nearby.
Aalijah was seen attempting to stop the car by pulling the handbrake, but was unable to prevent the collision.
The timing made the video even more striking. As Aalijah declared that “there is no shortage of talent in Pakistan”, the car veered towards the police van. He then desperately pulled the handbrake, but the vehicle crashed into it.
Islamabad Police later cleared the student of any wrongdoing, saying its inquiry found “no evidence of any commission of an offence” and describing the collision as a “genuine mistake” during the testing of an invention, Pakistan’s daily The Express Tribune reported.
Student says wrong key caused crash
Earlier, journalist Muhammad Aalijah had attributed the loss of control to an internet disruption. Speaking to newspaper Dawn, he said: “Everything was fine until a technical fault occurred due to an internet disruption, causing the car to go out of control and crash into a police vehicle.”
The student behind the vehicle, Ahsan Zafar Abbasi, later offered a different explanation for the collision. He said the car was supposed to turn right when the wrong control key was pressed, sending it sharply left and into the path of the police vehicle.
Story continues below this ad
“When I got ready to show the vehicle, rather than the right key getting pressed, the left key got pressed,” Zafar said, according to The Express Tribune.
“Due to the wrong key getting pressed, the car, rather than going right, went left,” he explained.
Islamabad Police subsequently investigated the incident after the video went viral. SP City Zone Ayaz Hussain said the inquiry found no offence and described the incident as a mistake made while testing the invention.
“This is the future of Pakistan, these are the youth of the country,” Hussain said in a video released by Islamabad Police. He also described Zafar as “genuinely testing an invention” and called the incident “a genuine mistake”.
Zafar is a third-semester computer engineering student at COMSATS University and is from Abbottabad. He said he had been working in the field since 2018 and developed the vehicle as part of his project.
Story continues below this ad
“I don’t have a lab at home where I can conduct these practical tests,” he said. “This was my project, a driverless car powered by the internet.”
Warning over safety of automated vehicles
Aalijah noted that the incident occurred in a high-security area where traffic was limited, but warned that a similar malfunction elsewhere could have much more serious consequences.
“If the same situation had occurred on a busy road, the consequences could have been extremely dangerous, even fatal,” he said.
Aalijah later defended his decision to keep it online despite requests from several people, including Zafar, to remove it as well. He said he had highlighted the project because he regularly looks for stories about young Pakistanis and their innovations.
Story continues below this ad
“It is my responsibility to appreciate him and tell people that this is Pakistani talent,” Aalijah said, adding that it was also his responsibility to tell people “this happened”.
He said the footage was meant as an “awareness” and “warning” video, rather than an attempt to embarrass the student.
Video sparks memes online
The footage quickly spread across social media, drawing both appreciation for the technological experiment and a stream of humorous reactions.
“Certainly, there is no shortage of talent in Pakistan,” one user wrote, quoting Aalijah in a jibe.
Story continues below this ad
Another user joked that even AI panics in Pakistan when it sees the police.
Some users, however, encouraged the technology enthusiast behind the project not to abandon the effort.
“Funny for some, maybe, but I see a great effort. It failed today; yes, hiccups happen, but I know this young Pakistani will one day have a perfect solution.”
Despite the crash, Zafar said he planned to continue working on the project. “I am going to try to keep working in this field and continuing practical work, and help make Pakistan’s name in the entire world,” The Express Tribune cited him as saying.
(With Inputs from Dawn and The Express Tribune)
