Federal Investigation Agency

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Federal Investigation Agency
وفاقی تحقیقاتی ایجنسی
Pakistan Special Police Establishment (1948)
EmployeesMild Classified
Jurisdictional structure
Legal jurisdictionConstitution of Pakistan
Governing bodyGovernment of Pakistan
Operational structure
HeadquartersG-9, Peshawar Morr Interchange, Islamabad, Pakistan
Agency executive
Parent agencyMinistry of Interior
Major Units
13
    • Counterterrorism Wing (CTW)
    • Crime wing (CW)
    • National Central Bureau (NCB)
    • Interpol
    • Immigration Wing (IW)
    • Technical Wing (TW)
    • Legal Branch (LB)
    • Anti-human Trafficking Wing (AHTW)
    • Administration Wing (AW)
    • Economic Crime Wing (ECW)
    • Cyber Crime Wing (CCW)
    • Complaint Center (CC)
    • Exit Control List (ECL)
Website
www.fia.gov.pk

The Federal Investigation Agency (

smuggling as well as infringement
and other specific crimes.

Codified under the Constitution of Pakistan in 1974, the institution functions under the Ministry of Interior (MoI). The FIA also undertakes international operations with the close co-operation and co-ordination of Interpol. Headquartered in Islamabad, the agency has various branches and field offices located in all major cities throughout Pakistan.

Objectives

The FIA's main goal and priority is to protect the nation's interests and defend

Pakistan's
interests locally, to uphold and enforce criminal law, and law enforcement in the country.

Departments and priorities

As of 2021, FIA has 11 active departments to lead criminal charges and investigation, with priorities:

  • Anti-Corruption
  • Anti Human Trafficking and Smuggling
  • Counter-Terrorism
  • Economic Crime
  • Electricity, Gas, Oil Anti Theft Unit
  • FIA Academy
  • Immigration
  • Interpol
  • Intellectual Property Rights
  • Integrated Border Management System
  • National Response Center For Cyber Crimes

Priorities

History

Background

In 1942, the

India, which formed the CBI
, and Pakistan, which retained it as the Pakistan Special Police Establishment (PSPE) in 1947. With the passage of time, the PSPE, apart from investigating the offences of bribery and corruption against officials of the federal government, was also given powers to investigate cases relating to offences under the following laws:

  • Official Secret Act, 1923
  • Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947
  • Passport Offenses Act, 1952
  • Customs Act, 1959

Creation

After the

organised crimes, smuggling, human trafficking, immigration offences, and passport scandals.[9]

When the FIA was created, it took cases on corruption at every level of the government.[10] Although ostensibly a crime-investigation service, the FIA also did investigations of accused political opponents and critics of financial impropriety, from tax evasions to taking bribery while in office.[10]

National security and efforts against terrorism

The compound where Ramzi Yousef was captured. The FIA worked in close co-ordination with the American Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to capture Yousef in 1995.

Initially, its role was to conduct investigations on public corruption but the scope of the FIA's investigation was increased to take actions against communist

al-Zulfikar group.[11] In 1985, the FIA's undercover operation busted the drug trade, with the illicit trade leaders and their culprits apprehended by the FIA. Known as the "Pakistan League Affair", the FIA effectively put an end to the illicit drug trade with the arrest of the gang's key drug lord.[12]

From 1982 to 1988, the FIA launched a series of investigations and probes against Pakistan Communist Party leader Jam Saqi and aided the court proceedings relating to its findings.[13] In 1986, the FIA successfully infiltrated the terrorist group responsible for hijacking Pan Am Flight 73, and quickly detained the Libyan commercial pilot suspected of having a role in the hijack.[14]

After securing voting plurality in

1993 Pakistani general elections, Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto further widened the scope of FIA, making FIA akin to Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in the intelligence community. After approving the appointment of senior FIA agent Rehman Malik, the FIA's intelligence and investigations were now conducted at the international level, with close co-ordination with the American FBI.[15] The FIA notably worked together with the FBI to conduct investigations of the 1993 bombing at the World Trade Center in New York, United States.[15] The FIA and FBI tracked down the mastermind of that bombing, Ramzi Yousef, in Pakistan.[15]
In 1995, the successful investigation led to the extradition of Yousef to the United States.

In the 1990s, the FIA directed by Malik, was involved in leading investigations and actions against

ISI.[18] Despite difficulties, the FIA had gained world prominence after reportedly leading successful operations against terrorism in 1996.[18]

In 2001, the FIA successfully investigated the case against

counter-terrorism was assigned to the FIA, which led to an establishment of the Counter-Terrorism Wing (CTW).[1] The CTW agents were provided extensive training and equipment handling by the FBI under the Anti Terrorism Assistance Program (ATTP).[1]

The FIA began investigating

Afia Siddiqui in Karachi.[21] In 2003, the FIA had been investigating the investigation on Siddiqui's movements and activities, subsequently sharing with the United States.[21]

Anti-infringement efforts

Efforts on probes against copyright violation was increased after a petition was filed by the FBI which disputed Pakistan's commitment to rooting out infringement within its national borders in 2001.[22]

In 2002, the FIA launched several probes against copyright infringement and Pakistan was en route to having its US duty-free GSP agreements being taken away from it in 2005.[22] To avert any further negative fallout, sections of the Copyright Ordinance 1962 were included in the FIA's schedule of offences.[22] This legislation paved the way in 2005, under the direction of the federal interior ministry, to raid the country's largest video wholesale centre: The Rainbow Centre.[22]

Raiding the factories of the dealers that operated within the centre proved to be a highly successful enterprise, resulting in a reduction of 60% of sales of bootlegged video material.[22] A spokesman from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), later confirmed, that many of the outlets had stopped selling unlicensed video goods and were now selling mobile phones, highlighting that the FIA's raids and the resultant legal action were a success.[22]

Intelligence operations

In 1972–73, Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto adopted many recommendations of the Hamoodur Rahman Commission's papers after seeing the intelligence failure in East Pakistan. This led the reformation of the FIA as Prime Minister Bhutto visioned the FIA as equivalent to American FBI which not only protects the country from internal crises but also from foreign suspected threats therefore he established the FIA on the same pattern. In 1970s, Prime Minister Bhutto had the Pakistan intelligence to actively run military intelligence programs in various countries to procure scientific expertise and technical papers in line of Alsos Mission of Manhattan Project.[citation needed]

Both the FIA and the Intelligence Bureau (IB) were empowered during the government and the scope of their operation was expanded during 1970s.[citation needed] Though ISI did lose its importance in the 1970s, the ISI regainEd its importance in the 1980s after successfully running the military intelligence program against the Soviet Union. Sensing the nature of competition, President Zia-ul-Haq consolidated the intelligence services after the ISI getting training from the CIA in 1980s, and subsequently improved its methods of intelligence.[citation needed]

In 1990s, the ISI and FIA, in many ways, were at war in the poverty-stricken landscape of Pakistan politics.[23] The ISI used its Islamic guerrillas as deniable foot soldiers to strike at FIA credibility, and according to published accounts, the FIA turned to Israeli Mossad and Israeli Intelligence Community through Pervez Musharraf to helped down the terrorist networks in the country.[23] Throughout the 1990s, the intelligence community remained under fire and competition in each services for credibility.[24]

After the 11 September 2001, the attacks in the United States history, the FBI launched the largest investigation in its history and soon determined that the hijackers were linked to al-Qaeda, led by Saudi exiled Osama bin Laden.[citation needed] Same as just after 9/11 attacks in the United States, the FIA gained credibility over the ISI in the United States.[citation needed] The FIA and ISI were also mentioned in The Path to 9/11 television series.[citation needed]

Special FIA teams

On 9 June 1975, the FIA formed the Immigration Wing (IW) to help

illegal immigration to Pakistan.[25] In 1979, the Anti-Human Smuggling Wing was formed to take evasive actions against the human smugglers and trafficking.[25] In 1975, another special team, the Technical Wing, was formed to tackle financial crimes.[26]

In 2003, the FIA formed an elite

counter-terrorism unit to help deal with exterminating terrorism in the country.[27] Named Counter-Terrorism Wing (CTW), it acts as an Elite team in related procedures and all counter-terrorism cases.[27] Also the same year, the FIA formed the Cyber Investigation Unit (CIU) and the Computer Analysis and Forensic Laboratory.[27]

Since then, the FIA has assigned its agents, and officials have received physical training and electronic equipment from the United States.

bombing in Islamabad.[29] The FIA shared most of its findings gathered through interrogation of the arrested suspects to help hunt down the top members of al-Qaeda, with the FBI.[30]

Other FIA special teams included the Anti-Corruption Wing (ACW) which was established in 2004 to lead probes against corrupt officials and other white collar criminals.[31] In 2004, the Economic Crime Wing (ECW) was also established in 2004 but transferred to the NAB; though it was restored to the FIA in 2008.[32] In 2014, the FIA formed an elite response team with the National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) agency to take decisive and through counter-terrorism actions, based on gained internal intelligence, against the terror groups.[33]

Criticisms and controversies

Covert operations on political groups

The FIA has used covert operations against domestic political groups since its inception; the FIA launched covert operations against the right-wing activists of the

Bonded Labour Liberation Front (BLLF) on behest of the government. Critics of FIA have called the agency "secret police".[34] In the 1980s, the FIA also targeted Pakistani leftist groups and was instrumental in conducting inquiries (Jam Saqi case) in preparation against the Communist Party of Pakistan.[34]

2005 FIA scandal

In 2005,

special agents of the FIA arrested five of FIA's immigration agents for their alleged role in human trafficking, and most of them were dismissed from the service.[35]

2008 Lahore bombings

On 11 March 2008, the

twin suicide bombings to target the counter-terrorist unit of FIA based in Lahore. The building was severely damaged during the suicidal attack. The Geo News later reported that "the building also housed the offices of a special US-trained units of FBI created to counter terrorism" suggesting a motive.[36]

International access

Cooperation with foreign counterparts

In 2006, the FIA resumed operational links with its Indian counterpart, the Central Bureau of Investigation, after a gap of 17 years.[37][38]

The FIA participates in the

US Department of State, Terrorist Interdiction Program (TIP) in 1997, as a system to improve their watch-listing capabilities by providing a mainframe computer system to facilitate immigration processing. The PISCES system has been installed at seven major airports of the country i.e. Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, Multan and Faisalabad airports. The system has provision to accommodate about information on suspects from all law enforcement agencies like Immigration, Police, Narcotics Control, Anti-smuggling, and Intelligence Services.[39]

Organization

The FIA is headed by the appointed

Director-Generals and ten Directors for effective monitoring and smooth functioning of the operations spread all over the country.[41]

The FIA is headquartered in Islamabad and also maintains a separate training FIA Academy, also in Islamabad which was opened in 1976.[42] In 2002, FIA formed a specialised wing for investigating Information and Communication Technology (ICT) related crimes. This wing is commonly known as the National Response Centre for Cyber Crimes (NR3C) and has the credit of arresting 12 hackers, saving millions of dollars for the government exchequer.[43] This wing of the FIA has state-of-the-art Digital Forensic Laboratories managed by highly qualified Forensic Experts and is specialised in Computer and Cell Phone Forensics, cyber/electronic crime investigation, Information System Audits and Research & Development. Officers of the NR3C carry out training for Officers of Police and other Law Enforcement Agencies of Pakistan.[43]

Organization structure

The organizational structure of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) is as follows:

Administrative offices and wings Executive figure Commands and the area of responsibility
Immigration Wing Additional
DG
Director of
ATU

Dy. Director of Law
Dy. Director of Legal Organization
Cyber Crime Wing Additional DG Director Ops, Cyber Crime Wing
Anti Corruption wing Additional
DG
Director of Technical Ops.
Director of Law
Director of
Dy. Director
of Crimes
Dy. Director of Technical Ops.
Administration Wing Additional
DG
Commandant of FIA Academy
Director of Administration
Director of Engineering
Director of Accountings
Counter Terrorism Wing Director Deputy commandant Operations
Deputy commandant Intelligence
Punjab-I Director
Sindh-I Director
Sindh-II Director
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
Director
Balochistan
- Punjab-II Director
Islamabad Director
National Central Bureau (Interpol) Director

Structure

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has its headquarters in Islamabad. The chief presiding officer of the agency is called the director general, and is appointed by the Ministry of Interior. The headquarters provide support to 7 provincial offices, i.e. Sindh-I, Sindh-II, Punjab-I, Punjab-II, KPK, Balochistan and Federal Capital Islamabad. The provincial heads of agency are called "directors". Further there are about (?) smaller offices known as wings or circles e.g. Crime, Corporate Crime, Banking Crime and Anti-Human Trafficking Circles at the provincial level. They are headed by additional and deputy directors, helped by investigation officers (I.O.) like assistant directors, inspectors, sub-inspectors and assistant sub-inspectors etc. for running of bureau business. The wings are major segments of the agency known as Anti-Corruption or Crime Wing, Cyber Crime Wing, Immigration Wing, Technical Wing, Legal Wing, Administration Wing and National Response Centre for Cyber Crimes (NR3C). Further there are branches working under the command of above-mentioned wings, viz. counter-terrorism branch (SIG), Interpol branch, legal branch, crime branch, economic crime branch, intellectual property rights branch, immigration branch, anti-human smuggling branch, PISCES branch, administration branch, implementation and monitoring branch.

Designations

Grade Designation Equivalent Police Ranks
BS-7 Constable Constable
BS-9 Head Constable Head Constable
BS-11 Assistant Sub-Inspector Assistant Sub-Inspector
BS-14 Sub-Inspector Sub-Inspector
BS-16 Inspector Inspector
BS-17 Assistant Director Assistant Superintendent of Police
BS-18 Deputy Director Superintendent of Police
BS-19 Additional Director Senior Superintendent of Police
BS-20 Director Deputy Inspector General of Police
BS-21 Additional Director General Additional Inspector General of Police
BS-22 Director-General Inspector General of Police

FIA director generals

The FIA is headed by a

director-general (DG), appointed by the federal government, generally a very senior police officer of BPS 21/22, based at the Headquarters in Islamabad. The current director-general is Mohsin Butt, since 22 July, 2022. He is said to be a close confidant of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. [44]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Counter-terrorism department". FIA Counter-terrorism department. Archived from the original on 31 May 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  2. ^ "Anti-Corruption Department". FIAAnti-Corruption Department. Archived from the original on 11 August 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  3. ^ "FIA Economic Crime Wing". FIA Economic Crime Wing. Archived from the original on 24 April 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  4. ^ "FIA Immigration Wing". FIA Immigration Wing. Archived from the original on 12 March 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  5. ^ "FIA Technical Wing". FIA Technical Wing. Archived from the original on 12 March 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  6. ^ "National Central Bureau NCB". National Central Bureau NCB. Archived from the original on 31 May 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  7. ^ "Anti Trafficking Unit". ATU. Archived from the original on 9 May 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  8. ^ a b c d e f "History of FIA". FIA history. Archived from the original on 11 August 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  9. ^ .
  10. ^
    ISBN 1859848869. Retrieved 3 January 2015.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )
  11. . Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  12. .
  13. . Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  14. ^ .
  15. ^ Benjamin, Daniel & Steven Simon. The Age of Sacred Terror, 2002
  16. ^ Shane, Scott (22 June 2008). "Inside a 9/11 Mastermind's Interrogation" The New York Times.
  17. ^ .
  18. ^ Khan, Kamran; Baker, Peter (30 January 2002), "Pakistan to Forgo Charges Against 2 Atomic Scientists,", Washington Post
  19. ^ . Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Federal Investigation Agency.
  20. ^ .
  21. ^ a b c d e f Anis, Khurram (5 March 2006). "Rainbow Centre business bombs 60% in raid aftermath". Daily Times area archives. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  22. ^ .
  23. ^ B. Raman. "A Revamp of Pakistani Intelligence Community is underway". B. Raman of Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chenna. B. Raman of Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chenna. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  24. ^ a b "Immigration Wing". IMMIGRATION WING. Archived from the original on 12 March 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  25. ^ "Technical Wing". Technical Wing. Archived from the original on 12 March 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  26. ^ a b c d e FIA. "Counter-Terrorism Wing". Counter-Terrorism Wing. Archived from the original on 31 May 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  27. ^ FIA. "Pakistan Most Wanted List" (PDF). Govt. Pakistan. CTW Listing. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 August 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  28. ^ News reports (2008). "Timeline of Marriott Hotel bombings". Geo News archives, 2008. Archived from the original on 19 June 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  29. ^ Asghar, Mohd' (28 June 2009). "FBI links Marriott bombing to Al Qaeda". Dawn area studies 2009. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  30. ^ "Anti-Corruption and Economic Crime Wing". Anti-Corruption and Economic Crime Wing. Archived from the original on 11 August 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  31. ^ "ECONOMIC CRIME WING (ECW)". ECONOMIC CRIME WING (ECW). Archived from the original on 24 April 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  32. ^ Webdesk (9 November 2014). "Hamid Ali Khan named as Nacta's first full-time chief". Express Tribune, 2014. Express Tribune, 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  33. ^ .
  34. ^ "Pakistan off human smuggling list", BBC News, 3 June 2005
  35. ^ Roggio, Bill (11 March 2008) "Dual suicide bombings in Lahore kill 28", The Long War Journal. Retrieved 6 November 2016
  36. ^ "India, Pakistan to share expertise in investigation'", The Hindu, 24 March 2006
  37. ^ "India, Pakistan to form joint group to tackle crime", PakTribune, 23 March 2006
  38. ^ Malik, Rehman (3 March 2005). "Personal Identification Secure Comparison and Evaluation System (PISCES)". Federal Investigation Agency. Archived from the original on 2 May 2006. Retrieved 31 July 2005.
  39. ^ "Directors of the FIA". Directors of the FIA. Archived from the original on 9 February 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  40. ^ "FIA Organs". FIA Organs. Archived from the original on 11 August 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  41. ^ "FIA Academy". FIA Academy. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  42. ^ a b "National Response Centre for Cyber Crimes(NR3C)". National Response Centre for Cyber Crimes(NR3C). Archived from the original on 23 June 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  43. ^ "Message from the DG FIA". www.fia.gov.pk. Federal Investigation Agency. 23 March 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2016.

Further reading

External links