By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The government is advancing plans for a unified “one-window” clearance system at its airports, combining immigration, security and customs checks into a single process powered by e-gates and advanced scanners in an effort to cut passenger wait times and ease chronic congestion.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi chaired a high-level inter-ministerial meeting on Wednesday to hammer out the details of the joint strategy between the ministries of interior and defence. The session focused on streamlining outbound passenger processing while tightening controls against human smuggling, officials said in a statement released after the gathering.
The plan comes as Pakistan’s airports grapple with rising traffic. The Civil Aviation Authority recorded 25.4 million domestic and international passengers in 2025, a 12% increase from the previous year. The meeting agreed to replace the current patchwork of separate checks with joint counters where all agencies would use a single scanner, the statement said.“ Unified checking on a single scanner by all institutions will save time and facilitate passengers,” Naqvi was quoted as saying. He added that the government was committed to reducing congestion and waiting times through closer inter-agency coordination.
The new system will feature modern baggage and document scanners along with e-gates equipped with biometric passport readers and facial-recognition technology. Officials said the changes are expected to reduce average immigration clearance times from three to five minutes to under 45 seconds per passenger. Progress on installing the e-gates was reviewed during the meeting, the statement said.
Naqvi stressed that speed must not come at the expense of security. Data presented by the FIA showed that more than 1,200 attempts at human smuggling were intercepted at Pakistani airports last year. The e-gates will be linked in real time to the FIA’s exit-control list, passenger-name records and Interpol databases to flag high-risk travelers instantly, officials said.
A phased rollout is expected to begin at Islamabad International Airport. An official familiar with the discussions said the changes would address a frequent complaint from travelers. “Immigration and Anti-Narcotics Force checks separately can take 40 minutes at peak hours,” a travel operator told the meeting. “A single window would be a huge relief.”
The Defence Ministry also highlighted the role of the new equipment in improving overall airport safety. It pointed to modern machinery that would help reduce bird-related incidents, protecting both aircraft and passengers, the statement said. Naqvi told participants that effective coordination among all agencies was essential. “By working together, we can minimize waiting times, reduce congestion, and enhance the overall travel experience for passengers,” he said. The meeting stopped short of announcing a firm timetable or budget for the full nationwide rollout. Officials said further technical and procurement details would be worked out in follow-up sessions.
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