Bangladeshi authorities have raided the house of the PIA manager in the country, prompting Pakistan's flag-carrier to suspend all flights to Dhaka till March 10.
"We have suspended flight operations to Bangladesh till March 10," Express Tribune quoted a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) spokesperson as saying.
Citing harassment of PIA crew and passengers as the reason for suspension, the spokesperson added: "The protest will continue till action is taken".
PIA Station Manager Ali Abbass was held by the security forces in Bangladesh and was later deported to Pakistan. Several raids have also been conducted on the houses of PIA officials on suspicion of smuggling fake currency.
According to PIA sources, Bangladeshi intelligence officers have been harassing PIA officials for the past two months. Yesterday, PIA flight PK-266 was delayed for three hours for security checks.
The government also asked the Bangladesh government to clarify the harassment of the staff of Pakistan International Airlines in Dhaka.
"Our High Commission in Dhaka has taken up the matter with the Bangladesh Foreign Office. We await their explanation and response. This indeed is an unfortunate development," Foreign Office Spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said.
Bangladesh had last month expelled one of the Pakistani diplomats on allegations of being involved in terrorist financing and currency forgery.
