LAHORE, Jan 9: Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat has directed the immigration authorities to install the Personal Identification Secure and Comparison Evaluation System (PISCES) at the Wagah railway station by Jan 15.

During his visit to Wagah on Friday, the minister directed the officials of the immigration post there to launch the system immediately to have a computerized record of the passengers travelling between Pakistan and India.

He also asked the officials of the Federal Investigation Agency to install the PISCES at the Lahore railway station as well. The minister ordered the immigration authorities at the Wagah railway station to clear passengers on all security checking points in at least two hours instead of four hours.

Later, FIA director general Mohib Asad told reporters that an infrastructure had already been laid at the Wagah railway station to make the PISCES functional. However, he said the FIA required over three months to launch the project at the Lahore railway station.

When asked whether the US had any access to the PISCES installed at several Pakistani airports, he replied that it was a mere propaganda. "Its complete record is available at the FIA head and sub-offices and nothing is connected with any foreign agency," he said.

The function of the PISCES is to computerize the record of passengers travelling into and out of the country to check the movement of suspected terrorists especially illegal immigrants.

Under the PISCES, the passengers are required to provide their travel history to immigration authorities at the time of their arrival and departure at the city's international airport.

The system has been installed in Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad and Quetta with the financial assistance of the USA. The FIA officials believe that the new system would help improve the security system in the country. All intelligence agencies, including police, would benefit from it in solving criminal cases, they say.

"Once the passenger data becomes available with the immigration authorities, it would help them detect those who travel on illegal documents," they say.