Offloading dispute results in FIR

Passenger seeks written reasons for offloading, attempts to record video

RAWALPINDI:

A dispute erupted at the New Islamabad International Airport after a woman passenger, who was due to travel to Saudi Arabia for Umrah, was offloaded and later booked by police following an altercation with FIA immigration staff.

According to sources, Tameena Bibi, a resident of Attock, arrived at the airport to travel to Saudi Arabia for Umrah. During immigration clearance, she was asked about hotel bookings and certain documents, but was unable to provide satisfactory answers.

She was then referred to the second-line counter, where, after waiting, she was informed that her documents were incomplete and she was offloaded.

The woman sought an explanation and demanded the reason in writing. Allegedly dissatisfied with the response from immigration officials, she attempted to record a video on her mobile phone, triggering an argument between her and FIA immigration staff. Officials repeatedly asked her to delete the video, while the passenger insisted she be provided with written reasons for her offloading.

The FIA immigration staff refused, took the woman into custody with the help of female staff and kept her at the airport. Other officials also attempted to resolve the matter between the passenger and immigration personnel.

However, on the instructions of Deputy Director Immigration Hina, FIA Sub-Inspector Ansa Tayyaba Iffat submitted a complaint alleging that the passenger attempted to record a video after being offloaded and threatened staff members.

The woman was handed over to Airport Police, where a case was registered against her under Sections 353 and 186 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Sources said the woman is a teacher by profession. Meanwhile, citizens have expressed concern over frequent offloading incidents and the registration of cases against passengers over video recordings, and have urged the Interior Minister and FIA Director General to order transparent investigations into such incidents.