Passenger rage forces Pakistan politician who delayed flight to flee
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Version 0 of 1. Fury with a "VIP culture" that routinely sees commercial flights in Pakistan delayed to accommodate the schedule of politicians boiled over this week when passengers angrily prevented the country's former interior minister from boarding an aircraft. Fuming travellers had been waiting in their seats when Rehman Malik, one of the country's most recognisable politicians, sauntered down the air bridge to the Pakistan International Airlines jet more than 90 minutes after its scheduled departure from Karachi to Islamabad on Monday. Malik promptly turned tail when a furious group of travellers waiting by the door to the aircraft began heckling, with some chasing him back to the terminal building shouting and calling him a "stupid dog". "Rehman Malik sahib, 250 passengers had to suffer because of you!" One man could be heard shouting. "You are not a minister any more and even if you were a minister we don't care, we don't care any more!" Video of the event captured on passengers' phones went viral in a country where politicians are widely regarded as corrupt and deeply resented for the disruptions to daily life that they cause. That includes traffic jams created by the security convoys of ministers and the habit of turning up to political rallies many hours after the crowds who come to see them. One Facebook page hosting the video said the incident demonstrated the growing clout of Pakistan's middle class over traditional elites. "The common man starts believing that respect is not about how much money you have or about the position that you hold," said Faheem Azam, an arts personality. "When they understand that respect has to be earned by being fair, humble, honest, committed and sometimes by just being respectful towards others." While the former minister fled back to the safety of the airport, another government party politician called Ramesh Kumar Wakwani managed to board the plane only to be vigorously interrogated by suspicious passengers who demanded to know who he was. Initially he described himself merely as a "doctor" before eventually admitting to being an elected member of Pakistan's national assembly. That prompted jeers that he was behaving like a feudal lord and demands for him to leave the plane. Amid cries of "shame" he eventually surrendered his prized extra legroom seat in the front row of the economy class cabin. Malik defended himself on Twitter, saying he had not been responsible for the delay, which the state-owned national carrier said was due to technical reasons. "I suffered equally," he said on Twitter – although unlike the other passengers he was allowed to wait in the comfort of the lounge. The stalwart of the opposition Pakistan People's party is one of the country's most colourful politicians, famous for his purple rinse hairstyle, odd pronouncements and for dashing to the scenes of the regular terrorist attacks that blighted his time as interior minister. Widely regarded as a buffoon, he compared himself to Winston Churchill, Peter Mandelson and David Miliband in an interview last year. |