A Pakistan-origin man has been arrested by Australian police on Tuesday after he allegedly “claimed of carrying explosives” on board a Malaysia Airlines flight from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur, which was forced to return to Sydney.
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According to a Pakistan media report, Muhammad Arif Ali, 45, was arrested after the flight returned back and has been charged with “one count of making a false statement about a threat to damage an aircraft.” The man has also been charged with one count of not complying with the cabin crew's safety instructions, the news agency AFP reported, quoting Australian Federal Police.
Three hours after the Malaysian Airlines flight MH122 left Sydney on Monday afternoon, it returned back after the passenger “allegedly became disruptive” during the flight. These kinds of offences in Australia carry a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment and a fine of over A$15,000 ($9,730) – over ₹8 lakh in Indian currency.
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Videos of the man went viral, where he can be seen praying on a prayer mat in the airplane’s aisle and repeatedly asking people, “Are you a slave of Allah?”
{{/usCountry}}Videos of the man went viral, where he can be seen praying on a prayer mat in the airplane’s aisle and repeatedly asking people, “Are you a slave of Allah?”
{{/usCountry}}Sydney Airport said in a statement that thirty-two domestic flights were cancelled and other domestic flights delayed by up to 90 minutes due to the incident. There were no international flight cancellations.
What do we know about Muhammad Arif Ali?
-The man identified in the Pakistan media report as Muhammad Arif Ali is a former Pakistani model and actor. The report further said he graduated from National College of Arts (NCA) Lahore in 2002 and worked as an architect in various firms in Karachi and Lahore from 2002 to 2016.
-His LinkedIn profile lists his professional background and his open Facebook profile says he is currently living in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory.
-Ali's Instagram profile, created in June 2014, features a throwback video with his co-actors from “Kollege Jeans”. His colleagues and his lawyer hope for a fair handling of his “bomb threat case”, suggesting that he might be dealing with “mental health issues” and thus requesting a psychological assessment.
-He also maintains a YouTube channel called “Food for Thought”, featuring short videos primarily centered around his religious perspectives. His latest video was posted on August 12, 2023.
-Some of his colleagues from the entertainment industry said they have lost contact with him, as per the report and one source mentioned that they were informed that “he had developed extremist views”..