The interior ministry has directed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) that no government official or other VIPs would be given protocol at airports across the country. Any FIA official caught giving protocol to a VIP would face strict action, the ministry warned in a letter sent to all zones of the agency.
The letter read that that immigration counters at airports would be monitored and any a VIP was seen being given special treatment, the immigration staff and their shift in-charge would be immediately suspended.
The ministry also directed the FIA to not harass passengers leaving the country.
A few days ago, Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal traveled from Islamabad to Lahore on a Pakistan International Airlines flight sans any protocol.
Iqbal disembarked from the plane and sat in the passenger van along with other passengers, entered the arrival without any staff from the FIA, ASF, Customs, Police and of course hangers-on receiving him.
He walked into the lounge like any other passenger and hopped in a car and headed home.
Earlier this year, the FIA had dismissed one of it’s officials in connection with the mishandling of two Norwegian nationals at Benazir Bhutto International Airport in Islamabad.
