B'deshi woman files plea against FIA for 'illegally' stopping her from going to Dhaka

Lahore, Feb 11 (PTI) A Bangladeshi woman who was sold in Pakistan some 35 years ago has filed a petition in the Lahore High Court against the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for "illegally" stopping her from going to Dhaka.  Razia Bibi, 58, filed the petition in the LHC on Tuesday, saying that the FIA immigration staff offloaded her from a Dhaka-bound flight without providing any legal justification.  In the petition, Razia said she was kidnapped in Bangladesh some 35 years ago and illegally brought to Pakistan, where she was sold in Karachi.

"I was forced into marriage with 'my purchaser' in Pakistan, and later I was shifted to Kasur district of Punjab, some 50kms from Lahore," she said, adding that recently she reconnected with her Bangladeshi family through social media and her mother wanted to meet her one last time in her life.

Razia said that when she reached the Lahore airport to leave for Bangladesh in a connecting flight, the FIA officials illegally stopped her from boarding the plane. She said she argued that she was travelling on a valid visa, but to no avail.  "Offloading me without any reason clearly indicates that the FIA engages in illegal practices," she said, seeking an order from the court for the FIA to compensate her for the amount of her air travel ticket and visa fee.

Razia has also filed an application with the interior ministry for an action against the FIA's unlawful act. PTI MZ ZH ZH