RAWALPINDI: Additional director FIA, who was found guilty of sexually harassing two Afghan sisters, was arrested by the police on Thursday.
Earlier, the two sisters, who came to Islamabad from Kabul for medical treatment at a private hospital, were allegedly kept in illegal confinement by the FIA immigration official for several hours.
When contacted, Director FIA Mazharul Haq Kakakhail, confirmed that the assistant director Akram Shad, who had been posted at BBIA in February this year, had not only been suspended and removed from his post, but was arrested by the police after he was found guilty in a departmental inquiry.
The director FIA said first the FIA launched inquiry into the Afghan girl’s claim and then took action against the AD after he was found guilty.
“Akram Ali Shad’s harassment of Afghan woman was an embarrassing act and can’t be justified,” the director FIA said adding that none of the other immigration officials was involved in the case.
The ministry of interior has also issued a notification suspending the assistant director FIA.
This is the second incident in last over three months. On April 15, a Norwegian mother and daughter, Haseena Khalid and Fauzia Khalid, respectively, were maltreated by an FIA immigration lady constable at Benazir Bhutto International Airport.
Later, the accused lady constable was dismissed from service and the shift in-charge was directed to report to the FIA Headquarters.
Zuhra Rastyar and Helai Rastyar arrived from Kabul through Pakistan International Airlines’ flight PK-250 on July 2. As the two women approached the immigration desk, they were asked to provide their hotel’s phone numbers. When they couldn’t furnish the numbers, they were asked sit in a side room.
In her complaint lodged with the Airport police, Zuhra Rastyar said since they could not provide hotel’s phone numbers the FIA staff made them waiting there for five hours, although they had valid passports and visas.
In the meantime, a FIA senior official, who spotted the two young women on CCTV screen, asked a sub-inspector to bring the two women to his office which was located outside the international arrival lounge.
The SI took two Afghan women to his room where they were threatened that they would cancel their visas and sent them back to their home country, if they didn’t obey their orders.
She said they asked them that their officers would take a room next to their room in the hotel to keep an eye on them during their stay in Pakistan.
“Since we had no other choice we agreed to their demand. One of the immigration staff then asked my younger sister Helia to bring our passports for putting entry stamps on them,” she said, adding when her sister left the room the senior officer stood up and locked the door from inside and tried to sexually assault her.
“I stood up and started screaming and tried to run away from the office,” she said.
She said she could not give his name but was sure that he was the main officer.
She demanded the Pakistan government take notice of the incident otherwise she would refer the case to Afghan embassy in Islamabad. “The authorities concerned should watch the CCTV images and bring the accused to justice,” Zuhra Rastyar said in her FIR.
Later, both the sisters left the airport.
When the deputy superintendent of police (Civil Line Circle) Farhan Aslam was contacted, he confirmed that the additional director FIA, who was found guilty in the departmental inquiry, was arrested by the police.
Published in Dawn, July 7th, 2017
https://www.dawn.com/news/1343773