RAWALPINDI: The American woman, who was offloaded from a Qatar Airways flight at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport on Sunday, will now leave Islamabad early Thursday morning.

She was offloaded because the airline sought a clarification from the Pakistani government in regards to deporting her home.

Elizabeth Marie Lancaster married a Pakistani civil engineer and came to Pakistan but the couple separated a few months later.

She came to Islamabad seeking assistance from the US embassy in returning to her home country.

She was picked up by the police from Commercial Market Satellite Town.

She was brought to the airport on Sunday to put her on a Qatar Airways flight back home via Doha. However, the airline refused to take her and sought a clarification in regards to taking her to the US as a deportee.

After the expiry of her visa on Oct 19, the interior ministry had issued Ms Lancaster a special exit permit for 15-days. She also had a valid ticket for flight QR-633 for Oct 24.

She was later produced before the court of a special magistrate by the police, seeking permission to take her to the Darul Aman which was refused and she was taken instead to a women’s police station.

“She smokes foreign brand cigarettes, eats pizzas and burgers and we provide her whatever she wants from our pockets,” a police official said, adding that she had now become comfortable with the women police officials.

When asked, the station house officer of New Town said Ms Lancaster will leave for the US on Thursday and that her travel documents had been put in order with the help of her embassy and her parents, who were also in contact with the US embassy.

Talking to Dawn, the man she married, Adnan Khan said he had befriended her on Facebook before they got married. He claimed they were still married and that she did not want to live with him.

Published in Dawn, November 2nd, 2017