The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) claims to have intercepted a major smuggling attempt at Peshawar’s Bacha Khan International Airport, exposing alleged collusion within Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). According to ARY News, two PIA employees — Nasir Khan and Shahidullah — were arrested in a joint FIA and Airport Security Force (ASF) operation. Authorities recovered 7.7 kilograms of gold, valued in millions, concealed in their luggage and reportedly intended for illicit export.
Both suspects have been placed on a two-day physical remand as investigators probe possible links to wider smuggling networks. Officials suggest that the case may implicate additional collaborators, raising concerns about systemic vulnerabilities within Pakistan’s aviation sector that smugglers continue to exploit.
The operation is part of the FIA’s broader crackdown on transnational smuggling and trafficking routes. In a parallel development, the FIA’s Balochistan Zone, through its Anti-Human Trafficking Circle in Quetta, foiled an illegal border crossing at the Pakistan-Iran frontier. Agents apprehended the notorious trafficker Nadir and his aide Haider, alongside several Bangladeshi nationals attempting to cross into Iran after entering Pakistan unlawfully.
These back-to-back actions underscore both the persistence of smuggling syndicates operating through Pakistan’s borders and airports, and the FIA’s attempt to project itself as a more assertive enforcer. However, critics argue that such arrests, while high-profile, often expose only the lower tiers of organized crime. Without sustained institutional reforms and accountability within agencies like PIA and border security bodies, smuggling rackets are likely to reconstitute themselves.
