Wrestlemania

The video clips of the FIA personnel physically manhandling two female passengers at the Islamabad Airport are shocking. This abuse of passengers and its attempted cover-up by the FIA should expose the nexus of the corrupt. What purpose do the ASF, the FIA, customs, the CAA security and other agencies deputed at airports serve if they were to stand and watch while two female passengers were mercilessly beaten? Had this video clip not emerged, the in-house investigation conducted on the orders of the interior minister would have succeeded in hoodwinking the minister. Semi-skilled expatriate Pakistani workers going to Gulf, the Middle East, etc, employed on work visas are the primary target of a few to collect bribe. Although remittances of these expatriates form bulk of our foreign exchange reserves, they are the one who suffer the most at our airports, while blue collared money laundering couriers are facilitated. The unchecked access to sensitive airport areas by cargo and ground handling agencies who have greased the palms of regulators has caused many security lapses. Have we forgotten that in 2010, for over one year; there was no documented record of flight operations by non-scheduled airlines at the Karachi Airport?

Almost every airport in Pakistan has been declared unsafe, with numerous security breaches. In spite of such failings in discharging their primary responsibility, these various agencies, including the ASF have all the time to launch housing societies for commercial benefits. This obsession for real-estate seems to transcend all rationale and logic. One only hopes that the interior minister would ensure that exemplary punishment and criminal proceedings be initiated against culprits who were on duty and those who tried to cover up this shameful act.

M T Ali

Lahore