Pakistan: Woman approaches court against FIA for offloading her from Dhaka-bound flight
Islamabad: An elderly woman, who was allegedly born in Bangladesh and was trafficked and sold in Pakistan some 35 years back, has filed a petition in Lahore High Court against the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for offloading her from a Dhaka-bound flight, local media reported.
Razia Bibi (58) filed the plea through her lawyer Ali Changezi Sandhu and requested the court to impose a fine on the FIA for offloading her, allegedly without any reason, Pakistan’s leading daily Dawn reported.
In the petition, Razia Bibi’s lawyer alleged that his petitioner was kidnapped in Bangladesh and illegally brought to Pakistan, where she was sold in Karachi around 35 years ago. He stated that petitioner was forced to marry her ‘purchaser’ in Pakistan and later taken to Kasur.
He stated that the petitioner, who is now a Pakistani national, recently connected with her family in Bangladesh through social media and her mother requested her to meet her one last time in her life.
According to the lawyer, petitioner was offloaded by FIA immigration officials from Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore on February 27, 2025, when she was boarding a flight to Bangladesh. The FIA immigration officials did not provide any reason for the action.
He alleged that thousands of Pakistani youth have been victim to the FIA’s “unlawful offloading” based on mere suspicion and assumptions about illegal travel and human smuggling, Dawn reported.
The lawyer alleged that offloading an elderly woman without any reason clearly indicates FIA is involved in illegal practices and requested the court to order the agency to compensate the petitioner for the money spent on her air ticket and visa fee.