--- description: The passengers waited on the tarmac for two hours before former Interior Minister Rehman Malik and MP Ramesh Kumar Vankwani showed up. title: Pakistan Politicians Forced Off Plane image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfe4e441e78b9fe0a/6986a3b5f983e71a2304faca/rtr3666f.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Pakistan](/tag/pakistan/) ## Pakistan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Two Pakistani Politicians Got Kicked Off a Plane by Furious Passengers by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 17, 2014 8:02 AM CUT  Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik speaks during an interview with Reuters in lslamabad on Aug. 4, 2012 Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik speaks during an interview with Reuters in lslamabad on Aug. 4, 2012Faisal Mahmood—Reuters by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 17, 2014 8:02 AM CUT A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight from Karachi to Islamabad took off [without](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-29218939 "undefined") two of its most high-profile ticket holders — a former Interior Minister and an MP from the ruling party — after an incensed group of passengers forced them to disembark. The passengers were kept waiting on the tarmac for two hours before former Interior Minister Rehman Malik and legislator Ramesh Kumar Vankwani showed up to board, the BBC reported. While PIA claims the hold-up was for technical reasons, the airline has in the past delayed departures to accommodate the schedules of politicians and high-ranking officials. A [video](http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x260xj5%5Frehman-malik-thrown-off-flight-by-passengers-keeping-it-delayed%5Ffun "undefined") taken by one of the passengers shows Malik walking toward the aircraft door, being confronted by the angry mob shouting things like “You should be ashamed of yourself!” and “250 passengers have been put out because of you!” Malik tries, very briefly, to respond, but on realizing the passengers are having none of it, he turns around and walks off. Malik later said he arrived late because PIA staff [told him](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/17/world/asia/pakistan-airlines-delay-leads-to-near-mutiny.html?smid=tw-share&%5Fr=0 "undefined") the flight was delayed. However, the incident has ignited a social-media storm in Pakistan and brought issues of favoritism or “VIP culture” into the spotlight. \[[_BBC_](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-29218939 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3388980/pakistan-international-airlines-pia-rehman-malik-ramesh-kumar-vankwani/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3388980/pakistan-international-airlines-pia-rehman-malik-ramesh-kumar-vankwani/"},"headline":"Two Pakistani Politicians Got Kicked Off a Plane by Furious Passengers","datePublished":"2014-09-17T08:02:09.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T10:13:45.688Z","description":"Passengers mutiny after suspecting flight was delayed to accommodate a tardy MP and a former Interior Minister","url":"https://time.com/3388980/pakistan-international-airlines-pia-rehman-malik-ramesh-kumar-vankwani/","keywords":["Pakistan","Airline"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfe4e441e78b9fe0a/6986a3b5f983e71a2304faca/rtr3666f.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rishi Iyengar","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfe4e441e78b9fe0a/6986a3b5f983e71a2304faca/rtr3666f.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik speaks during an interview with Reuters in lslamabad","caption":"Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik speaks during an interview with Reuters in lslamabad","creditText":"Faisal Mahmood—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/pakistan/","name":"Pakistan"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3388980/pakistan-international-airlines-pia-rehman-malik-ramesh-kumar-vankwani/","name":"Two Pakistani Politicians Got Kicked Off a Plane by Furious Passengers"}}]}] ```