PESHAWAR, Nov 30: The lawyers community has termed the installation of Personal Identification Secure Comparison and Evaluation System (Pisces) at the international airports in the country an infringement upon the Constitution which guarantees the privacy of a citizen’s life and considers it inviolable.

“The establishment of surveillance counters is direct attack on privacy of an individual, an unconstitutional and illegal step,” said Barrister Baachaa, former vice-president of the Supreme Court Bar Association.

Under Article 14 of the 1973 Constitution, Baachaa pointed out, the dignity of the citizen was inviolable, but through such measures passengers were made hostages inside the airports and allowed to go after thorough scanning like taking their fingerprints, photographs, etc.

He pointed out that the US government had enacted Patriotic Act and the British government introduced an anti-terrorism law, but these laws were meant for foreigners which could not apply to their own nationals.

The new monitoring system is also irritating visitors at the airport as many incoming passengers complained that they had to wait for a long time in front of the Pisces counters at the airport to complete formalities.

Senior lawyers said no law was in the field which could empower the government to establish such counters. They said for establishing these counters, the government should have done legislation and that too on limited scale.

Immigration officials, however, claimed that the new Pisces system — installed at Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and Peshawar airports — would not affect privacy of the citizens and no agency would leak out these information to any other country.

The automation staff acknowledged that the “particulars of citizens, including their photographs are saved in the machines which they passed on to the Intelligence Bureau only.”

They said the system would facilitate the immigration staff to check the movement of suspects wanted by Interpol and other government agencies in different cases.

Naveed Malik, regional director of the FIA, denied the version of the automation staff, adding that they did not take photographs of passengers. “We only jot down their names and passport numbers,” he said.

Official sources said the government had planned to introduce Pisces system in 1998, but the plan was delayed due to some unknown reasons.

FIA officials told Dawn on Saturday that the interior ministry would set up the new system at 14 entry and exit points along the Pakistan-Afghan border by the end of year 2003. The points include Torkham, Miranshah, Parachinar and Chaman.

The government was to install the monitoring system in 1998, but delayed it due to unknown reasons. The system has been introduced to net terror suspects in the region.

In addition, official sources said the government would soon introduce the highly sophisticated Passport Readable Machine to curb passport tampering practice in the country.