Proposed, approved or operating: telling Pakistan's border projects apart

The five stages used on this site

This site labels each project by the stage shown in the latest official record or attributed report, with its date. A minister's announcement, a consultation or a tender notice is not an approval. A contract or a design study is not an operating system. Operating status is taken only from the institution that runs the system ^2,35.

• Proposed: a plan, proposal or consultation, such as the API-PNR system the FIA lists as a proposal ²
• Evaluated: a design, study or tender stage, such as the e-gate design phase reported on 25 June 2025 ⁸
• Approved: a decision by a competent authority, such as the Customs Border Management Initiative the FBR said the Prime Minister approved ³
• Operating: in use, as reported by the responsible body, such as IBMS ²
• Discontinued: replaced or out of use, such as PISCES, replaced in 2014 ²

Systems reported as operating

The FIA's Annual Administration Report 2025 says IBMS is functional at 35 offices, including 33 entry and exit points and FIA headquarters ². The FIA's IBMS page lists 27 entry and exit points, made up of 14 airports, 7 land routes, 4 seaports and 2 railway stations, with traveller statistics given up to 30 June 2020 ¹. The difference reflects different dates and counting.

The FBR said on 20 November 2019 that Pakistan Customs had made its Global Travelers Assessment System operational at seven major airports ³. The Directorate General of Immigration and Passports says the e-passport has been issued from all field offices since 16 August 2023 ⁵.

Proposals that are not yet systems

On 20 March 2023 the government reported a national consultation on a proposed API and PNR system called goTravel, hosted by the FBR with UN support ⁴. The FIA's report for 2025 lists a proposal for an API-PNR system, a proposal for Refusal of Departure from Pakistan rules, and an eIMMI mobile app marked as under development ².

On 23 April 2026 Profit reported a plan, discussed at a meeting chaired by the Interior Minister, for one-window airport clearance with shared scanners and phased biometric e-gates ⁹. The report gave no vendor, cost or completion date ⁹.

Airport e-gates, step by step

The e-gate project shows why stages matter. Each step below is a different stage, reported on a different date. None of the sources reports e-gates in passenger use at an airport ^6,78,9.

Who decides, and who supplies

Immigration decisions and watchlist entries rest with the Ministry of Interior, the Directorate General of Immigration and Passports and the FIA, per the FIA's report for 2025 ². No official record checked gives a supplier or an airport operator a role in those decisions. The FBR named the World Customs Organization and US Customs and Border Protection as giving technical assistance for GTAS ³. The other official records checked name no contractor for these projects, so none is named here.