Human rights activist and lawyer Jalila Haider was on Monday barred from boarding a flight to the United Kingdom by officials from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) at Allama Iqbal international Airport in Lahore.
According to sources, the rights lawyer was detained at the airport on Monday morning as she arrived to catch her flight. Haider had been scheduled to board a plane to London where she was due to attend a conference related to her work.
Sources from the FIA said that Haider was barred from departing Pakistan as her name was on a watch-list of individuals who are under official scrutiny for alleged involvement in ‘anti-state’ activities. Sources confirmed that Haider was released from custody after a six-hour long detention at Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore. Haider was let go after she recorded a statement, sources said.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) condemned the detention of Haider and termed it an “ill-conceived action” that continued the tradition of targeting human rights defenders and journalists.
“We condemn this ill-conceived action because it simply continues the pattern of arbitrarily targeting the freedom of movement of human rights defenders and journalists without cause,” the group wrote on Twitter.
The commission also welcomed the decision of the authorities to allow Haider to book another flight to the UK after returning her passport and other documents to her as she was released.