RAWALPINDI: Federal Minister for Haj and Religious Affairs Sardar Mohammad Yousuf on Wednesday preferred to use general public departure lounge with his personal secretary (PS) after the officials of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) did not allow him (PS) to use the business class lounge at Islamabad airport.

However, the federal minister for haj and religious affairs, who was heading for Lahore, expressed his anger over the ‘attitude’ of the CAA official.

“The CAA official categorically refused to allow the PS to accompany the federal minister as he was keeping the air ticket of economy class,” a security official at the airport told Dawn.

However, the federal minister tried to convince the official but his efforts proved unproductive, leaving him with no other choice but to refuse to use the business club class alone and preferred to accompany his personnel assistant.

Both the federal minister and his PS walked into the domestic departure lounge to board the Lahore flight at 10.25pm.

When the federal minister for religious affairs Sardar Mohammad Yousaf was contacted and asked about the stopping of his staff officer from using business class lounge while leaving for Lahore last night, he laughed and said: “If my staff officer cannot use the business class lounge, we too will not use it.”

He said since his staff member was a government employee and had security clearance, he had the right to accompany him.

“They (the personnel staff officers) enjoyed the right to accompany their ministers,” the federal minister said.

He further said ever since the renovation of BBIA had been completed and new policy had been introduced, only the federal ministers, MNAs and MPAs were only allowed to use the business class lounge, but their staff cannot accompany them.

When the air port manager was contacted, he said the CAA staff was following the policy of aviation division.

According to a senior official of the airport management, the crew members of the special aircraft of the chief ministers, including the Punjab CM special plane’s crew members had been stopped from using the Business class lounge during their duty timings since the remodeling of the airport had been done.

Published in Dawn, May 28th, 2015

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