trafficking
ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency on Thursday officially launchedan advanced Artificial Intelligence-based immigration control system at allmajor international airports across the country in a bid to curb passportfraud, human trafficking and illegal border crossings.
The new system, developed in collaboration with the National Database andRegistration Authority and international technology partners, integratesfacial recognition, fingerprint verification and real-time databasecross-referencing to identify forged documents and wanted individualswithin seconds.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony held at Islamabad InternationalAirport, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said the deployment marked asignificant leap in securing Pakistan’s borders through modern technology.He revealed that the AI system had already flagged more than fortysuspicious cases during the pilot phase conducted over the past threemonths at Karachi and Lahore airports.
Officials from the FIA Immigration Wing explained that the technologycompares passenger biometrics against multiple national and internationalwatchlists simultaneously while detecting alterations in travel documentsthat are invisible to the human eye. The system is now fully operational atIslamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, Multan, Faisalabad andSialkot airports.
The initiative comes amid growing concerns over the use of counterfeitPakistani passports by criminal networks involved in human smuggling toEurope and the Middle East. Last year, several European countries reportedthe seizure of forged Pakistani documents being used by undocumentedmigrants.
Director General FIA Ahmad Ishaque Jehangir stated that the AI platformwould reduce processing time for genuine travellers while significantlyenhancing detection rates of imposters and persons of interest. He addedthat the system operates with complete data privacy compliance and does notstore images of legitimate passengers.
The project has been funded through the Interior Ministry’s bordermanagement modernisation programme with technical assistance from leadingglobal security firms. Authorities expect the new measures to substantiallydecrease incidents of identity fraud and strengthen Pakistan’s standing ininternational aviation security rankings.
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Immigration officers have undergone specialised training to operate the newequipment, which will eventually be extended to land border terminals atChaman, Torkham and Wagah in the next phase.
The launch has been welcomed by airline operators and diplomatic missionswho have long called for stronger measures against document fraudoriginating from the region.
Source: https://www.fia.gov.pk/press-releases
Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1875432
Tags: Pakistan, FIA, NADRA, Immigration, Artificial Intelligence, Airports
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