A big operation happened at Islamabad International Airport recently. Officers from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) caught a well-known terrorist while he was going through immigration.
The captured terrorist had a bounty of five million rupees on his head. After catching him, the authorities handed him over to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government.
This action came after another operation in September by the Airport Security Force (ASF) at the same airport. They seized heroin worth Rs70 million from a passenger who was going to Istanbul.
The passenger was carrying 5 kilograms and 448 grams of ice drugs. He cleverly hid them in three Ihram towels soaked in a heroin solution.
Switching topics, the federal cabinet decided to postpone its plans to outsource airports. They want clearance from a Steering Committee led by the Finance Minister first. This decision came after the Aviation Division gave a detailed presentation to the Cabinet on August 29, 2023. The presentation talked about how involving the private sector in airport operations could bring benefits. It mentioned examples from around the world where such partnerships improved services, increased revenue, and attracted investments.
Even though the government has been working on outsourcing Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi airports, they decided to use the framework of the Public-Private Partnership Authority Act 2017 for this initiative. The plan was to choose a private partner who would manage different parts of the airport. Eventually, the management would be transferred back to the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA). The International Finance Corporation (IFC), which is part of the World Bank Group, was appointed as the advisor for this project on April 11, 2023.
