ASF reluctant to joint probe, invisible checking at airports

The Airport Security Force (ASF) is reluctant to adopt a proposal of joint examination and invisible checking at airports, said sources. The proposal was forward by the Model Collectorate Customs for a joint examination and invisible checking by the Customs, ASF and Anti Narcotics Force (ANF). The proponents of the proposal have been agitating the point that the time has come to upgrade the examination and checking of luggage at airports to build positive image of Pakistan in the world.
Reliable sources said the objective of joint examination and invisible checking is to ensure a hassle-free treatment for the passengers, who pass through three checking barriers for the same luggage at airports. Sources said a meeting held recently in Islamabad, attended by the representatives from all the three agencies to deliberate upon the proposal.
They said both the Customs and ANF agreed to the proposal while the ASF dissented on the plea that the security situation of the country was not favourable to the proposal. "The security situation demands extra measures, particularly at the airports, to check terrorist activities," they added. Sources said the ASF representatives urged the participants to defer the proposal until the security situation of the country improves. Accordingly, no concrete development took place on the subject.
Automation and pre-processing are reducing the physical interaction with travelers during airport passenger screening internationally. This is the first step toward a future in which the passenger screening process will become unintrusive. An assortment of portal scanners, biometric collection devices, and pre-clearance based on voluntary background investigations will transform the passenger screening process. The threat of terrorism continues to be the most influential market driver; efficient checkpoint processing is in high demand by airports to reduce traveler wait times. As a result, the global spending on passenger screening technologies, which stood at $1.42 billion in 2014, expects to reach $1.63 billion in 2020.