PESHAWAR, March 4: The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will soon set up a computer database counter at Peshawar International Airport, to go with its hunt for terror suspects in the region, sources informed Dawn here on Monday.

Peshawar airport will be the third station after Karachi and Lahore where the US investigation agency has managed its operation.

The sources said the same counter would be established shortly at Islamabad International Airport. “ The FBI is preparing feasibility reports for both Peshawar and Islamabad airports, at the same time,” a senior official said.

A three-member FBI team, which had arrived in the provincial capital last week, visited various sections of the airport including the immigration section in order to prepare the report, he added.

“ Soon after the completion of the report the FBI would install high-tech equipment at the airport”, he said.

Due to the geostrategic location of the area, Peshawar is more important for American investigators than other locations, said a official concerned.

The names and particulars of all outgoing passengers would be automatically transmitted to the FBI computer database, concluded the official.

Five airlines including the Pakistan International Airlines, Shaheen Airlines, Gulf Air, Emirates Airlines and Qatar Airways operate direct flights from Peshawar to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and UAE and other Middle East countries. Some UN agencies also operate flights between Peshawar and Kabul.