Committee formed to probe alleged harassment incident at Karachi airport

KARACHI: A case has been registered and a committee formed on Friday to probe into the alleged incident of harassment at the Karachi airport.

Ruqqaya Soomro, who is working as Pakistan International Airline's Assistant Manager, was caught on camera slapping security officials after she alleged that she was physically harassed by a plain-clothed official.

Civil Aviation Adviser Mehtab Abbasi ordered the formation of a committee to investigate the matter.

The committee comprises Director General Aviation Security Force and Chief Operating Officer Pakistan International Airlines, said Abbasi.

Abbasi said that violation of discipline would not be tolerated within institutions of the Civil Aviation Division.

Meanwhile, a case was registered on behalf of ASF official Waheed at the airport police station. The case includes charges of interference in the official matter.

The incident occurred at the Jinnah terminal’s departure lounge at the airport.

The footage which surfaced is also incomplete, as the PIA female official reportedly slapped the man who misbehaved with her first and then misbehaved with the ASF official.

Following the incident, the PIA official was taken to another room by a female ASF officer and the matter was resolved. Interestingly, no complaint of the incident was lodged in the log book.

Speaking on the issue, ASF officials said that the woman was stopped from entering the lounge as her identity card was expired. However, ASF official accepted that the way that she was stopped was inappropriate. 

Taking notice of the incident, PIA asked for the CCTV footage of the incident so the case could be inquired into.