Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered the immediate installation of smart scanners at airports, replacing manual baggage inspection by customs officials with an automated system that meets international standards. Chairing a meeting to review the customs system, he approved a set of measures aimed at improving the airport experience for passengers, saying the existing inspection method was outdated and must be discontinued.
Passenger convenience and comfort are the first priority, the prime minister said, adding that no one would be allowed to harass travelers. He directed that airport staff receive training in line with international standards, with courtesy and respect for human dignity made a core part of service delivery. The instruction responds to a familiar concern about how passengers are treated during customs checks, where hands-on searches leave a great deal to the judgment of the individual officer at the counter. Replacing those searches with scanners moves the first layer of inspection from a person to a machine, which is how many airports abroad try to cut both waiting times and opportunities for harassment.
On revenue protection, the prime minister said all possible steps would be taken to stop tax theft. Businesses that pay their taxes deserve respect, he said, while a zero tolerance policy would apply to tax evaders, and he described the government as the custodian of public money that would make every effort to safeguard it. He also commended the new customs enforcement system and acknowledged the efforts of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) chairman and his team. The directive fits a wider pattern of FBR moving enforcement toward data and automation, including the recently established National Faceless Centre for tax audits. Pairing the two themes in one meeting suggests the scanners are meant to serve two goals at once, easing the experience of genuine travelers while giving customs a more consistent, technology-based way to detect undeclared goods at the point of entry.
The directive did not specify which airports will receive the scanners first, which vendor or technology will be used, how much the project will cost, or when the manual inspection system will be formally withdrawn. It also needs to be read separately from earlier airport security upgrades, including a plan reported in January 2026 under which the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) would install advanced scanning machines at major airports, starting with Karachi and followed by Islamabad and Lahore, to speed up luggage screening for security purposes. Those machines serve aviation security, whereas the prime minister’s latest order concerns customs inspection of passenger baggage. Whether the new customs scanners will be installed alongside or integrated with existing screening equipment, and how quickly airport staff can be trained to the standard the prime minister has demanded, will largely determine whether travelers notice a real change at arrival halls in the coming months. For now, the order sets direction rather than a schedule, and travelers will have to wait for customs authorities to announce an implementation plan.
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