Bangladeshi woman moves Lahore HC against ‘unjustified’ offloading from Dhaka-bound flight

An elderly woman, who was allegedly born in Bangladesh and was trafficked and sold in Pakistan some 35 years ago, has approached the Lahore High Court against the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for offloading her from a Dhaka-bound flight.

Razia Bibi, 58, filed a petition through her counsel, Ali Changezi Sandhu, and also sought imposition of a fine on the FIA for offloading her, allegedly without any reason.

In the petition, the counsel alleged that the petitioner was kidnapped in Bangladesh and illegally brought to Pakistan, where she was sold in Karachi some 35 years ago.

He said the petitioner was forced into marriage with her ‘purchaser’ in Pakistan and later shifted to Kasur.

He said that the petitioner, who is now a Pakistani citizen, recently reconnected with her Bangladeshi family through social media and her mother pleaded to meet her one last time in her life.

The lawyer stated when the petitioner, on Feb 27, 2025, reached the Allama Iqbal International Airport, Lahore, to travel to Bangladesh, the FIA immigration staff offloaded her without providing any justification.

He said the petitioner filed an application with the interior ministry for action against the “unlawful” act of the FIA officials, but to no avail so far.

He argued that on the basis of mere suspicion and assumptions regarding illegal travel and human smuggling, thousands of Pakistani youths had been falling victim to the FIA’s “unlawful offloading”.

However, offloading an elderly woman without any reason clearly indicates that the FIA engages in illegal practices, the counsel alleged, and sought an order for the agency to compensate the petitioner for the amount she spent on her air ticket and visa fee.