LAHORE, July 16: Interior Minister Lt-Gen Moinuddin Haider (retired) said on Tuesday the government had provided computers at the Karachi airport as a pilot project to monitor and develop a database of incoming and outgoing passengers.

Speaking to businessmen at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) here, he said the government would provide computers at all 18 entry points to the country to develop database of foreigners entering the country.

He said the computers to be installed at the entry points would be inter-linked so that the data was available to all the officials monitoring it from every entry point.

He said the project would cost $5.2 million and was expected to be completed by March next year.

Gen Haider said the government would restart deweaponization campaign once it was done with its anti-terrorism drive in the country. He said 3,104 people had been sentenced for illegal possession of arms.

He said the objective of the deweaponization drive was to free the society of illegal weapons. He, however, said the president had granted permission to issue arms licenses to the “vulnerable individuals” who needed them for personal protection.