Duo who threatened PIA plane remanded in custody

LONDON: Two British Pakistani men accused of endangering a PIA aircraft appeared before the Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on Monday but were refused bail and remanded to custody. Taxi driver Tayyab Subhani, 30, and restaurant worker Mohammed Safdar, 41, both from Nelson, Lancashire, are charged with endangering a PIA passenger jet PK 709 from Lahore to Manchester which was diverted with an RAF fighter escort to the Stansted Airpot, Essex, on Friday. The news of the plane being escorted by an RAF fighter jet caused global scare and initially it was thought that the incident could be terrorism related.
The count against the two men, read out in the court before the magistrate Sarah-Jane Davies, alleged that the defendants made false threats that the “crew and passengers would be killed and the aircraft blown up before landing which was false, misleading or deceptive.” The defendants, who are of Pakistani heritage and were both born in Burnley, Lancashire, spoke only to confirm their names and addresses but their lawyers said they would deny the charge. The two friends were travelling home after attending Safdar’s mother’s funeral, the court heard. The court also heard that the PIA aeroplane was carrying 308 passengers and wad due to land at the Manchester airport at 2pm. It landed at the Stansted Airport 20 minutes later.
After hearing the case, the Magistrate Sarah-Jane Davies refused the defendants bail and ordered that Safdar, a married father-of-three, and Subhani should appear at Chelmsford Crown Court on August 5 for a plea and case management hearing. Endangering an aircraft carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Their case will be dealt under the offences under the Aviation Security Act 1982 and the Aviation and Maritime Security Act 1990. Part 1 of the 1982 Act contains broad offences dealing with hijacking, destruction or endangerment of an aircraft and these offences are supplemented by Section 1 of the 1990 Act. The duo will remain in custody till the August hearing but their lawyers can apply for the bail at the Crown Court. Several eye witnesses told that the two men abused other passengers, fought with them and repeatedly threatened to blow the aeroplane. They argued with anyone who tried to calm them down and issued threats non-stop. The PIA pilot called for emergency help when he was told by the crew that the two were trying to enter into the cockpit of the plane.
Pakistan Muslim League-N leader Fakhar Iqbal was sitting right behind the two men. Iqbal was returning from Pakistan after campaigning for his brother Tariq Iqbal Chaudhry who beat Tehmina Daultana in a Multan constituency. He told The News that the two men openly abused other passengers and everyone was scared. It was Iqbal who called on the crew to intervene and ask the two men to behave but they would have none of it. Iqbal said: “I have not seen anything like this. I was interviewed by the police for two hours. I was scared at one stage that these two men may blow up the plane as they looked really hostile.”