Human Rights activist and attorney Mohammad Jibran Nasir has shared an unusual incident of harassment he and his wife faced at the Karachi airport.
The activist was supposed to travel to Dubai in June from Karachi when he was barred by the officials to travel which ended up them missing their flight. In a lengthy tweet, he wrote, “On 27th June my wife and I were scheduled to travel to Dubai via Emirates EK601 to visit my Family for Eid and we were scheduled to return to Karachi on 5th July. We checked in our luggage, got boarding passes, cleared immigration and got the exit stamps but while approaching the Departure Lounge we were called by an FIA official who appeared to be receiving instructions from someone on his phone.”
On 27th June my wife and I were scheduled to travel to Dubai via Emirates EK601 to visit my Family for Eid and we were scheduled to return to Karachi on 5th July. We checked in our luggage, got boarding passes, cleared immigration and got the exit stamps but while approaching the… pic.twitter.com/P2Tyh9EwxH
— M. Jibran Nasir ???????? (@MJibranNasir) August 9, 2023
He further wrote, “He took our passports and read our names to the person on the phone and confirmed ‘Yahi log hain aap kay’ after which we were made to miss our flight, our baggage returned and offloaded stamps affixed on our passports. No formal explanation was given except for ‘Samjha karain sir, hamain instructions hain aap ko janay nahi dena’.”
According to Nasir, he also did not receive any from the Interior Ministry once he sent legal notices. “Today the Hon’ SHC has issued notices to the concerned ministry/depts seeking an explanation for his harassment and unlawful restriction on travel,” he posted.
He also reminded me of his abduction and wrote, “On 1st June I was abducted by around 15 armed men who acted with the confidence and bravado of having official authority and during their captivity I was asked to give up on my human rights work and cases. I see the incident of 27th June and the restriction on my family’s travel as a continuation of the unlawful and unconstitutional tactics adopted on 1st June to harass and intimidate me and my family.”
Read more: Mansha Pasha asks to pray for Jibran Nasir after he gets forcibly abducted
He concluded the post by reiterating that neither does he intend to give up on his human rights work and political activism nor does he hasany intention to move out of Pakistan. “Will stay here and will keep resisting unlawful and unconstitutional policies and actions of any and all institutions,” he stated.
