The story first surfaced on Wednesday in some segments of the media, but could not be corroborated. Officials also came out to immediately deny the story.
However, according to information gathered by The Express Tribune, the incident did indeed transpire on the Lahore-London Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight on Tuesday.
According to details, a maid was travelling along with Maryum Nawaz, daughter of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, and her family to London. The maid's ticket was purchased for Economy Class - but, once on board the aircraft, the premier's daughter had the flight crew bump up her up to Business.
Following directions, the PIA cabin crew seated the woman in Business Class. The person sitting next to the maid was a senior Pakistani bureaucrat -- and the official protested (initially not knowing that the maid worked for the premier's family's entourage) and approached the aircraft's captain to complain when the cabin crew did not move the woman back to Economy. Ironically, the senior bureaucrat himself had been upgraded from Economy to Business.
Intially, it was reported that the PIA cabin crew had protested the move -- but that was not the case, according to fresh details. When the matter reached him, the captain disallowed the move, despite it being the premier's daughter. Interestingly, the senior bureaucrat was not sent back to Economy.
When initially approached to comment on the incident on Wednesday, PIA spokesperson Mashhood Tajwar told The Express Tribune that no such incident had taken place.
The incident follows close on the heels of the dramatic expulsion of two parliamentarians from a Karachi-Islamabad flight by angry passengers. The passengers had faced a long delay and believed that the delay was due to the flight being made to wait for the VIPs' arrival.
Footage of the incident was uploaded by some of the passengers and went viral on social media.
PIA and the parliamentarians both held that the delay was due to a technical fault.
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nice leader.
so lovely my leader pic. I like all the leader,s.
mashahallah
The only defense left to save Pakistan is for the average Pakistanis to take things in their own hands now. We cannot depend on the government, politicians, police and bureaucrats to help us as they have proved to be corrupt to the extent that they only serve their own lavish and selfish desires. They have no shame, no dignity and no respect for this motherland which by definition means: "The Land of the Pure." It is time people come out on the streets to fight for their rights, to take control of things when the very people who seek their votes and come into prominent public service positions forget their duties to these people once in power. I urge all Pakistanis both inside and outside Pakistan to stop supporting this VIP-culture by saying "NO" to things that they see wrong. There is no way these corrupt people can win if all Pakistanis become "ONE" nation and start objecting to this insanity which can be seen and experienced every single minute in our motherland!
@SFK: Mariam paying for business class for her maid no way. She belongs to the elite class and their job is grab free all the resources of this land they are parasitic in nature feeding on the earnings of others.
The morale of the story is that in Pakistan Might is Right. The beaurecrat managed to transfer the maid, while upgrading himself. The poor pilot got suspended for 3 days and for Maryam this event did not happen. If all this is true. The winner is the beaurecrat, Maryam got a draw and the loser is the pilot. Change will not come that easily to Pakistan. The Pakistani elite are maneating tigers they have tasted blood and will not let go their priviledges that easily. We as a nation have to trudge a long long way to obtain even some degree of social equity and justice. May Allah help us all.
What would have better if Maryam would have paid for the Business class ticket for the maid and seated her next to herself to show equality so nobody could protest. Sharif family has enough money to pay for the upgrade. In the present situation the free-loading Bureaucrat should have been sent back to the economy class as he was a free-loader and he thought himself to be high and mighty not to sit next to the maid. What if he got a seat next to a maid in the economy class also, get off the plane?
The crooks got the pilot suspended for 3 days. ARY covered this. Hats off to this brave pilot!
But maryam claims that this never happened. It's a fabricated story. Who is lying? Is it a case of 'like father like daughter?'
@Quresh::We don't need any character.We are all blessed.Come what may.They say
The delay of course was due to some fault.Only the fault was not in the plane.It was/is in the system.The economy class ticket holder bureaucrat too could not be sent to his allocated/purchased seat in economy (as reported) due to the fault in system
Now look at the attitude of the people's servant (bureaucrat); the man could not have a maid sitting next to him. So much for the public service. These people need a good kick in their hind as an attitude adjuster.
Nobody could be more stubborn and shameless as the Sharifs... funny how they manage to repeat the same thing again and again, knowing the protests are still in-going..
The Bureaucrat was a PTI supporter and hence cannot be named.
This is a Muslim nation. No character.
can anybody tell me how much Maryum Nawaz, paying income tax
Beaurocrates and politicians,both should be thrown to the sea. They think that Pakistan is made for them and their children. All the wealth and beneifts are granted to these two classes. They do't annouce the foreigh scholarships and higher posts and are granted to low IQ persons and higly qualified people are humilated.
I'm no fan of her pater, and I've never met Maryam Nawaz myself so I can't bring myself to pass judgement on her own personality or intellect (Tweets can only tell you so much), but I admit that what I gathered from the writer's attempts to enlighten us regarding the situation is somewhat confusing.
So let me get this straight:
Maryam Nawaz wanted her maid to get the same treatment as herself (a move that I would wholeheartedly approve of if not for the fact that she went about it in a manner that is both unprofessional yet one that reeks of Pakistani elitism) instead of making arrangements before hand, and a bureaucrat who'd done the same for himself was offended by the idea of having to sit with a maid?
I have to admit I'm confused, though that may be because I had to read the article 3 times to glean even that much from it. I honestly don't know what's making me angrier: The bureaucrat's (apparent) superiority complex or the drivel that counts for journalistic endeavors in our nation.
I think it's the way the piece is written that's got me reeling.
For one thing, why did we have to know that the /bureaucrat/ wasn't sent back to economy? How is that relevant in an article that would have other wise been seen as another example of the elitism that prevails in our rulers and their "entourage", and the heroic captain who knew that rules were rules, no matter who tried to bend them, and (presumably, because the article doesn't really make it clear and just tacks that on without linking it to the content before it) sent the maid back to economy.
For another, that line (worked for the premier's family's entourage) doesn't make any sense. Either she was a part of the family's entourage or she worked for the family. It feels like the writer's just trying to meet a specified word limit without really caring about how the final product looks in the end. o.O
I dont know if it really happened or not but if it did, it is a start. People should start a fight for their rights. A peaceful one. Enough with these shareefs, tareens and bhuttos. If people stand up united No govt, VIP can stop them.
I see a pattern where people are standing up against the elite for their rights -- something that is new in Pakistan VVIP culture!
Name that senior Pakistani bureaucrat please. Also looks like that senior Pakistani bureaucrat made it an ego issue, in a sense that he could not sit with a Maid.
The maid and the bureaucrat should have been moved to Economy. It should have been Whats is good for the goose is good for the gander.
LOL.
Monarchy. Imran Khan and Dr TUQ are 100% correct and right!
so that bureaucrat felt it against his status to be seated next to a 'lowly' maid.
Aam Admi should not travel PIA, looks like PIA only cater to the elite of Pakistan. Let them support the PIA.
Name and shame the bureaucrat as well!
Ah, look at the innocent princess!!! Reminds you of the banality of evil.
Three bumps so far.. Keep it coming brave Pakistanis..