• Dedicated liaison channel to be set up between FIA and Italy’s Carabinieri TPC unit
• Pakistani officials to receive training in Rome

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Italy are set to roll out a structured bilateral cooperation mechanism to counter the smuggling of stolen cultural heritage, as cases of antiquities trafficking from Pakistan to European markets continue to rise.

The proposed framework includes intelligence sharing, specialised training, capacity building, and the transfer of modern technology to strengthen institutional responses against transnational crimes targeting cultural property.

Officials say it will function as a dedicated liaison channel between the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and Italy’s elite art-crime police.

FIA Director General Dr Usman Anwar attended a high-level Zoom briefing on Thursday delivered by Brigadier General Antonio Petti, Commander of the Carabinieri for the Protection of Cultural Heritage (TPC), Italy’s 300-strong unit widely regarded as the world’s leading cultural police force.

“International cooperation is the only way to dismantle these networks. Cultural crime is transnational, and you cannot fight it alone,” Brig Gen Petti was quoted as saying during the briefing.

The virtual briefing follows commitments made during Interior Minister Mohsin Raza Naqvi and FIA DG Dr Usman Anwar’s visit to Rome in February. During that visit, the two sides agreed to establish a formal mechanism, with facilitation from the Pakistan embassy in Rome, to curb the smuggling of cultural artifacts.

“This partnership gives FIA access to the best forensic tools, databases, and operational tactics in the world,” Dr Usman Anwar told Dawn after the briefing.

The briefing session comes after a sharp uptick in thefts from archaeological sites in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab. In 2025 alone, the FIA reported seizures of smuggled Gandharan and Buddhist artifacts worth over $3.2 million.

In February, the agency busted a major ring in Taxila attempting to move 2nd-century statues to Europe via Dubai.

During Thursday’s session, Brig Gen Petti shared best practices used by the Carabinieri TPC, which has recovered more than three million stolen artifacts since 1969.

The Italian unit maintains “Leonardo”, the world’s largest database of stolen art, which FIA officers will now be trained to access in real time.

Under the upcoming framework, Pakistan and Italy will establish a dedicated FIA-Carabinieri liaison desk in Rome. The first cohort of FIA officers is scheduled to begin joint training at the Carabinieri’s academy in Rome in the third quarter of 2026 (July-Sept period).

A formal MoU to codify the cooperation is expected to be signed in Islamabad next month. The Zoom interaction marks a significant step toward sustained coordination, joint initiatives, and knowledge exchange between the FIA and the Italian Carabinieri, as both countries move to protect cultural heritage from transnational criminal networks.

Published in Dawn, April 17th, 2026