A remotely managed automotive, a journalist within the passenger seat and one mistaken flip — an indication of a Pakistani pupil’s experimental driverless automobile ended with the automotive crashing right into a parked police van in Islamabad.
A Pakistani journalist Muhammad Aalijah uploaded a video of the demonstration on Sunday, exhibiting him sitting within the entrance passenger seat because the remotely managed automobile moved by means of Islamabad’s D-Chowk. The automotive all of a sudden turned in the direction of a parked police automobile, prompting Aalijah to drag the handbrake, however he couldn’t cease the collision.
This was fascinating, although i respect the hassle. pic.twitter.com/VVFeg4cji5
— Syed Sammer Abbas (سید ثمر عباس) (@SammerAbbas) August 31, 2026
Aalijah was seated within the entrance passenger seat of the automobile whereas demonstrating its automated driving know-how. The automotive gave the impression to be managed remotely because it moved ahead, however its steering all of a sudden went uncontrolled, and the automobile collided with a police van parked close by.
Aalijah was seen making an attempt to cease the automotive by pulling the handbrake, however was unable to stop the collision.
The timing made the video much more putting. As Aalijah declared that “there is no such thing as a scarcity of expertise in Pakistan”, the automotive veered in the direction of the police van. He then desperately pulled the handbrake, however the automobile crashed into it.
Islamabad Police later cleared the coed of any wrongdoing, saying its inquiry discovered “no proof of any fee of an offence” and describing the collision as a “real mistake” throughout the testing of an invention, Pakistan’s each day The Specific Tribune reported.
Scholar says mistaken key prompted crash
Earlier, journalist Muhammad Aalijah had attributed the lack of management to an web disruption. Talking to newspaper Daybreak, he mentioned: “All the things was high quality till a technical fault occurred because of an web disruption, inflicting the automotive to go uncontrolled and crash right into a police automobile.”
The scholar behind the automobile, Ahsan Zafar Abbasi, later provided a special rationalization for the collision. He mentioned the automotive was supposed to show proper when the mistaken management key was pressed, sending it sharply left and into the trail of the police automobile.
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“Once I received prepared to indicate the automobile, fairly than the appropriate key getting pressed, the left key received pressed,” Zafar mentioned, in line with The Specific Tribune.
“As a result of mistaken key getting pressed, the automotive, fairly than going proper, went left,” he defined.
Islamabad Police subsequently investigated the incident after the video went viral. SP Metropolis Zone Ayaz Hussain mentioned the inquiry discovered no offence and described the incident as a mistake made whereas testing the invention.
“That is the way forward for Pakistan, these are the youth of the nation,” Hussain mentioned in a video launched by Islamabad Police. He additionally described Zafar as “genuinely testing an invention” and referred to as the incident “a real mistake”.
سوشل میڈیا پر پولیس وین سے ٹکرانے والی گاڑی کی وائرل ویڈیو کا معاملہ۔
پولیس گاڑی سے ٹکرانے والی گاڑی کے معاملے پر ایس پی سٹی زون ڈاکٹر ایاز حسین کا نوجوان کے ہمراہ ویڈیو پیغام ملاحظہ کیجیے۔#WeRIslamabadPolice pic.twitter.com/wnbkNaP102
— Islamabad Police (@ICT_Police) September 1, 2026
Zafar is a third-semester laptop engineering pupil at COMSATS College and is from Abbottabad. He mentioned he had been working within the subject since 2018 and developed the automobile as a part of his mission.
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“I don’t have a lab at dwelling the place I can conduct these sensible assessments,” he mentioned. “This was my mission, a driverless automotive powered by the web.”
Warning over security of automated autos
Aalijah famous that the incident occurred in a high-security space the place site visitors was restricted, however warned {that a} related malfunction elsewhere might have far more critical penalties.
“If the identical state of affairs had occurred on a busy highway, the implications might have been extraordinarily harmful, even deadly,” he mentioned.
Aalijah later defended his determination to maintain it on-line regardless of requests from a number of individuals, together with Zafar, to take away it as properly. He mentioned he had highlighted the mission as a result of he commonly appears to be like for tales about younger Pakistanis and their improvements.
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“It’s my accountability to understand him and inform those that that is Pakistani expertise,” Aalijah mentioned, including that it was additionally his accountability to inform individuals “this occurred”.
He mentioned the footage was meant as an “consciousness” and “warning” video, fairly than an try to embarrass the coed.
Video sparks memes on-line
The footage shortly unfold throughout social media, drawing each appreciation for the technological experiment and a stream of humorous reactions.
“Actually, there is no such thing as a scarcity of expertise in Pakistan,” one person wrote, quoting Aalijah in a jibe.
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One other person joked that even AI panics in Pakistan when it sees the police.
Some customers, nonetheless, inspired the know-how fanatic behind the mission to not abandon the hassle.
“Humorous for some, perhaps, however I see an amazing effort. It failed at this time; sure, hiccups occur, however I do know this younger Pakistani will someday have an ideal answer.”
Regardless of the crash, Zafar mentioned he deliberate to proceed engaged on the mission. “I’m going to attempt to hold working on this subject and persevering with sensible work, and assist make Pakistan’s title in your entire world,” The Specific Tribune cited him as saying.
(With Inputs from Daybreak and The Specific Tribune)
