LAHORE: Lahore airport has added 12 new immigration counters, taking the total to 20, to handle the growing passenger traffic that had become difficult to manage during peak flight hours.
Over the past several months, passengers travelling abroad from Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi have increasingly complained of long queues, repeated questioning and prolonged immigration clearance.
The tightening of checks follows a wider crackdown on human smuggling in the wake of several boat tragedies involving illegal migrants, as well as complaints from Gulf countries about the number of beggars travelling there.
In response, authorities have stepped up scrutiny at airports, intensifying document verification and offloading hundreds of passengers who did not pass strict checks.
According to the interior ministry, at least 51,000 passengers were offloaded at airports in 2025, mostly at Lahore and Karachi, over insufficient or unverified documentation.
Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi visited the newly-expanded immigration area at Allama Iqbal International Airport, Lahore, on Thursday and reviewed arrangements made for passengers.
“Previously, only eight immigration counters were available. The number has now been increased to 20 that will help reduce passengers’ waiting time and enable authorities to manage rush more efficiently,” he said.
The minister also inspected the immigration process and spoke to passengers to inquire about their experience and the facilities being provided.
During the visit, Naqvi appreciated an FIA assistant sub-inspector for stopping a passenger carrying incomplete travel documents and praised him for performing his duty diligently.
The minister directed FIA officials to thoroughly scrutinise travel documents and ensure that no passenger with incomplete travel documentation is allowed to travel.
Naqvi also visited the FIA zonal office Lahore and chaired a meeting to review the agency’s performance and ongoing projects.
The minister reviewed the progress of the FIA Lahore’s upgradation project and directed that the plan be completed at the earliest. The meeting also decided in principle to replace old cameras installed at immigration counters at airports across the country. Approval was also given for the installation of state-of-the-art, technology-enabled cameras at immigration counters. It decided to utilise the services of the Pak-ID app for registering complaints.
Published in Dawn, August 28th, 2026
