KARACHI: “They have removed the old guards around Gate C, also known as Paan Gate, through which paan is brought into the airport,” said Ali Raza, one of the survivors of the airport attack in 2014, adding that five of the 10 militants used the same gate to enter the airport.

With the least possible security at the time of the June 9 attack, Raza told Dawn that Gate C had the most accessible route to the tarmac and the aeroplanes parked near it.

Two years after the incident, “the gate has been barricaded to enhance [airport] security, with younger recruits and a police mobile standing outside,” he added.

Raza, 28, was among the eight people who dashed towards the Isphahani Hangar (aircraft maintenance area) looking for shelter at the time of the attack. What they found instead was a dingy toilet where they spent five and a half hours praying they do not get discovered by the militants.

The only person who took on the militants, at that side of the gate, was an old security guard with a stick in hand.

It was reported at the time that the militants easily passed through the airport gate as they were dressed in an Airports Security Force (ASF) uniform. However, they were found out by the ASF guards through their white sneakers.

Over the months following the attack, the lax security, specifically at the Gate C, was enhanced considerably to an extent that most staffers were given area-specific cards which could not be used to access other departments within the airport.

Raza finally moved on to another job. The pressure to move, he claimed, came from his family who asked him to “work at a safe place”.

“It’s been four months that I left my previous job. During this period of time, I worked at a call centre but to no avail. Some of my colleagues moved within the same profession, but I knew there was some other place for me,” he added.

He works at a finance company now.

Compensation

Meanwhile, the families of seven of the victims whose charred remains were found at a cold-room facility 26 hours after they had taken refuge there, accepted the compensation from Gerry’s D’Nata, said Yunus Khan, heading workers’ union at the Karachi airport.

The cold-room facility in one of the warehouses of Gerry’s D’Nata was the first place the seven workers could find to take refuge when four militants entered the premises through the main gate. Khan said one of the victims, Fareedullah Humayun, was constantly in touch with him. The workers trapped inside the facility were burnt to death by a fire caused by an explosion near the cold-room facility around 3am, according to Khan.

A lawyer representing the families, Nadeem Shiekh, filed a petition with the human rights cell of the Supreme Court of Pakistan against the callousness of the company in rescuing the victims. After remaining confused whether to accept the compensation or pursue a legal fight, the families finally accepted the compensation, he said.

But the compensation, he added, was not distributed equally. “The daily wagers were given Rs700,000 while the permanent staff members were given a higher amount including gratuity and provident fund,” Khan added.

Airport security

Over three months ago marchers protesting the hanging of Mumtaz Qadri reached close to the main entrance to the airport, causing panic among the staff. It was on Feb 29 when burnt tyres and sandals were left near the main traffic signal leading to the airport security stop.

Defending the security personnel present at the airport that day, Civil Aviation Authority’s security director Air Commodore (retd) Fazal Minallah, said: “We had to tactfully handle them as our retaliation could have backfired. It doesn’t reflect on our security policy that we recently outlined for the airport.”

Speaking about the attack, the officer said there was still a security threat at the airport and as a result of continuing threats, “122 ex-army men have been deployed at the airport including SSG commandos.”

He said the airport security policy needed an overhaul since the incident, as there was no consolidated policy in place, but it required coordinated efforts of all the stakeholders involved. “For instance, there was not a written policy about airport security because of which the roles of the army, the Rangers and police, in protecting the airport, were not defined,” he added.

In July 2015, the prime minister approved an airport security policy involving all the stakeholders. According to the written policy, the inspector general of police of each province are responsible for the outer security of airports in their respective province.

At present, he added, there are six mobile vans, “including three Rangers mobiles which patrol the area 24/7”, around the main entrance to the airport. “Our job is to regulate [airlines] according to the rules of the International Civil Aviation Organisation,” he added.

Published in Dawn, June 9th, 2016