Senate panel summons ASF official over passenger treatment at Karachi airport

A Senate committee on Wednesday ordered an Airports Security Force (ASF) official to appear before it over the alleged rude treatment of parliamentarians and passengers during security checks at Karachi’s airport, Dawn reported.

The Senate Committee on Rules of Procedure and Privileges, chaired by Senator Syed Waqar Mehdi, met in Islamabad to consider several privilege motions. Senators Jan Muhammad, Dost Ali Jaisar, Saadia Abbasi, Palwasha Muhammad Zai Khan, Bushra Anjum Butt and Samina Mumtaz Zehri attended along with senior officials.

A search at the check-in desk

The case began with a privilege motion moved by Senator Zehri of the Balochistan Awami Party. She told the committee that on July 24, while checking in for Emirates flight EK-601 to London, an ASF official searched her hand-carry bag and questioned her about the cash she was carrying.

She said she offered to go to a side office so the foreign currency could be counted in line with procedure. Instead, she said, the official opened her bag at the desk, where three other bags were already open for inspection.

At its September 11 meeting, the committee had ordered an inquiry to be completed within 15 days and said the officer found responsible should be produced at the next meeting.

Transferred, but still summoned

On Wednesday the chairman told members that a reply had arrived along with an inquiry report, which said the official had been moved from his posting to another location.

Senator Zehri pointed out that the first response had insisted everything was done according to the law, while later information showed the official had been transferred. She questioned which legal provisions allowed authorities to search passengers’ belongings and said such searches should take place only when security requires them and strictly within the law. She said the official should be summoned to give his side and explain his legal authority.

Senator Abbasi said the issue was not limited to lawmakers but affected ordinary citizens too. She said misuse of authority and improper searches of passengers’ belongings could also harm public perceptions of elected representatives.

The chairman directed that the official and other relevant officers appear at the next meeting. He also told the authorities to arrange professional training for airport staff so that passengers are dealt with courteously and professionally.

Fashion institute row

The committee also took up a privilege motion by Senator Butt, who chairs the Senate Standing Committee on Federal Education, against Hina Tayyaba Khalil, vice chancellor of the Pakistan Institute of Fashion and Design (PIFD), and two others.

The motion says the vice chancellor’s contract ended in December 2025 but she stayed in office, and that she failed to appear before the education committee when it examined matters at the institute.

The privileges committee also voiced displeasure at the absence of Education Minister Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui and his ministry’s secretary. Senator Mehdi said officials should have explained in writing why they could not attend, and ordered show-cause notices for members of the university’s senate who had skipped an earlier meeting on Zoom.

Senator Butt said teachers summoned at her request had faced pressure during a separate inquiry. The committee formed a sub-committee, with Senator Palwasha as convener and Senators Jaisar and Jan Muhammad as members, to examine the matter and summon 13 people involved in the case.