Stowaway mystery: Missing boy’s schoolbag found at airport

Father files a kidnapping FIR at Baghbanpura police station.

LAHORE: Investigators have found a schoolbag belonging to the missing boy who was last seen with Qasim Siddique, the apparent stowaway who fell from a plane to a rooftop in Al Faisal Colony last week, at Allama Iqbal International Airport.

Airport security handed Ali Jamshed’s schoolbag to the police and his father Jamshed Ahmed confirmed that it belonged to his son. He has filed a kidnapping FIR at Baghbanpura police station.

Police sources said that airport security had on Wednesday also handed over the voice recording of the plane’s pilot to the control tower – in which the pilot mentions trouble with the plane’s landing gear but not the CCTV footage. They said that Wednesday was the first time that the CAA had given police access to CAA premises.

Police have confirmed that the body that fell on the rooftop on January 13 belonged to Qasim Siddique. Qasim and Ali, residents of Zaitoon Colony, were last seen leaving for school in Daroghawala at around 7:30 on the morning of January 13.

Jamshed said that he had been told that his son’s bag was found in a “sensitive area” of the airport. He said he remained optimistic that his son would be found soon.

Inspector Rana Ashfaq, who is investigating Ali’s case, said that Baghbanpura police would hold a joint investigation with personnel of North Cantt police. Zahid Hussain, the official in charge of investigation at North Cantt police, said it was too early to say how Qasim entered the airport. He said police were checking if Qasim or Ali had a friend or relative that works at the airport.

Police sources said that airport authorities had started cooperating with the police after the president ordered them to. They said that the airport perimeter fences had been checked but there were no signs of forced entry. Airport manager Amir Mehboob said that Group Capt Mujahid Waseem was leading a CAA investigation into how the boys got into the airport.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 20^th,  2011.