22 March 2023, Islamabad – United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Country Office Pakistan, in partnership with Pakistan Customs and United Nations Countering Terrorist Travel (‘CT Travel’) Programme, organized a two-day national consultation workshop with all relevant stakeholders in Pakistan on Advance Passenger Information (API) and Passenger Name Record (PNR) systems to support the identification, detection and interception of foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) and other serious criminals.
The consultation was aimed to develop a comprehensive understanding of Pakistan’s existing level of API and PNR implementation in terms of legal, operational and technical capacities, as well as national counter-terrorism structure and priorities, in order to identify specific areas for capacity-building support and technical assistance. The participants reviewed and discussed Pakistan’s existing level of API and PNR implementation, as well as counter-terrorism structure and priorities, in order to identify the specific capacity-building and technical assistance to be provided throughout implementation under its four key pillars.
The two-day event helped the participants understand country’s requirements and challenges in establishing an operational API and PNR. at the same time, the UN delegation and national stakeholders discussed relevant aspects of the national legislation, in view of establishing the appropriate legal basis to collect, process and protect passenger data in accordance with international standards and human rights, as well as the required operational and technical capabilities.
Chairman Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Mr. Asim Ahmad was the Chief Guest of the opening session which was attended by Her Excellency Leslie Scanlon, the High Commissioner of Canada; Dr. Jeremy Milsom, UNODC Country Representative; Mr. Mukarram Jah Ansari, Member Operations Pakistan Customs; and Mr. Jean-Phillippe Morange, Senior Legal Officer from UNCTED. Over 25 representatives from national agencies involved in border management, policing, intelligence, policy development, immigration, data management and sharing, passenger processing and facilitation, and human rights attended the workshop hosted by Pakistan Customs at Federal Board of Revenue.
The UN CT Travel Programme is a whole of UN initiative which includes experts from the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the United Nations Office of Information and Communication Technology (UNOICT), the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
