ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed customs authorities to expedite the installation of artificial intelligence-enabled scanners at all international airports to streamline baggage clearance and curb smuggling, particularly of petroleum products.
Chairing a meeting on customs enforcement at Prime Minister’s Secretariat, he reviewed the performance of the Digital Enforcement System (DES), under which 26 checkpoints have been established along major bridges on the Indus River to monitor the movement of goods from Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa into Punjab and Sindh.
According to an official announcement issued on Saturday, the prime minister was informed that the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority had agreed to install smart scanners alongside built-in luggage conveyor systems, before baggage is loaded onto carriers. The AI-enabled system will flag luggage suspected of containing taxable goods, allowing customs officials to focus inspections on identified baggage.
Customs staff will be withdrawn from arrival halls and restricted to the red channel, with inspections conducted only when flagged by the system.
DES checkpoints seized smuggled goods worth Rs274m, PM informed
The premier directed that the scanners be imported and installed without delay, stressing that air travellers must not face unnecessary questioning or harassment.
“The outdated methods of baggage inspection must be abandoned. Passenger comfort and dignity are our foremost priority, and no one will be allowed to cause inconvenience,” he said.
He also called for airport staff to be trained to international standards, with courtesy and respect for passengers central to service delivery.
The meeting was briefed on the DES checkpoints, for which nearly 1,000 personnel have been recruited. The system is headed by the Indus Collector based in Multan.
Of the 26 checkpoints, 12 have been newly established or are under construction, while 14 existing facilities have been repurposed. Personnel have been instructed to maintain a low profile and check only vehicles flagged by scanners as potentially carrying smuggled goods.
So far, the checkpoints have recorded 105 cases, leading to seizures valued at Rs274 million. The confiscated goods included cotton, high-speed diesel, gutka, kiwi fruit, polyester cloth, cigarettes, tyres, betel nuts, raisins, figs and other items.
Officials identified petroleum products smuggled from Iran as among the commodities most vulnerable to smuggling and a major source of evasion of the petroleum levy. The government plans to introduce an electronic e-bilty system for oil transportation later this month to strengthen monitoring and curb illicit trade.
Commending Customs for introducing the enforcement system, the prime minister praised Federal Board of Revenue Chairman Rashid Mahmood Langrial and his team. He called for all possible measures to prevent revenue leakage and reiterated the government’s zero-tolerance policy towards tax evasion.
“Tax-paying businesses are respectable, while tax evaders will face strict action. We are custodians of the poor man’s money and will protect it at all costs,” he said.
The FBR also briefed the prime minister on reforms aimed at consolidating customs enforcement into a unified national institution to strengthen anti-smuggling operations.
Published in Dawn, October 11th, 2026
