LAHORE: In one of the most extensive internal restructuring exercises in recent years, the Director General of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has ordered the immediate transfer of more than 120 female executive officers from headquarters and various zonal and specialised formations to immigration airports and check-posts across the country alongside a 50 per cent reduction in executive staff strength at the agency’s headquarters.
The twin directives issued from the FIA headquarters, marked for urgent compliance, underscore a strategic shift aimed at strengthening frontline enforcement, rationalising manpower and reinforcing field formations.
Under the first order, all zonal directors and functional heads have been instructed to post female executive staff ranging from Assistant Sub Inspector (BS-09) to Inspector (BS-16) from zones, circles and branches to immigration airports and land check-posts within their respective jurisdictions “with immediate effect”. Compliance reports have been sought on priority.
The detailed list attached to the directive includes female officers currently serving at FIA headquarters in Islamabad, Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Multan, Hyderabad and Balochistan zones, as well as officers posted with the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA). A number of them are presently assigned to specialised wings, including Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Counter-Terrorism Wing (CTW), Anti-Human Trafficking Circles (AHTC), Cyber Crime Circles (CCC), Interpol, administration, training and technical branches.
Several inspectors and sub-inspectors who had been performing duties in administrative pools, directorates and training institutions have now been earmarked for operational deployment at immigration counters of international airports and key land border crossings. The move is expected to significantly enhance the presence of female law enforcement personnel at points of entry and exit.
Officials said the step is in line with efforts to strengthen immigration management amid rising passenger volumes, increasing transnational mobility and persistent challenges related to human smuggling, trafficking in persons, forged travel documents and financial crimes linked to cross border movement. The enhanced deployment of female officers is also intended to facilitate passenger processing, particularly in cases involving women travellers, families and vulnerable groups, while ensuring compliance with gender-sensitive search and screening protocols.
In a parallel communication issued the same day, the DG directed a 50 per cent reduction in executive staff strength at FIA headquarters. The order, addressed to additional directors general heading headquarters, Anti-Corruption Wing (ACW), AML/CFT, Immigration, Law, training and Interpol divisions, enclosed a list of 211 executive officers and officials presently serving at the Islamabad headquarters.
The heads of respective formations have been asked to examine the list and recommend 50pc of the working strength under their administrative control that can be spared for posting to zonal directorates and field formations. The recommendations are to be forwarded to the Human Resource Management Directorate at the earliest for further necessary action. The matter has been categorised as “most urgent”.
The headquarters list includes officers ranging from deputy directors and assistant directors to inspectors, sub inspectors and supporting executive staff posted in the DG’s office, HR directorates, technical wings, AML/CFT units, immigration branches, legal sections and the National Central Bureau (NCB) Interpol. Many of them have been serving in Islamabad for extended tenures.
The simultaneous relocation of female officers to immigration duties and the downsizing of headquarters staff indicate a broader policy recalibration within the FIA, prioritising operational readiness and field-based enforcement over centralised staffing. By redistributing human resources from desk assignments to airports, border terminals and zonal investigation units, the agency appears to be seeking improved response capacity and more effective on ground supervision.
While the orders do not explicitly cite performance concerns, officials say the restructuring is aimed at optimal utilisation of available manpower, reducing administrative concentration at headquarters and addressing staff shortages frequently reported by field formations.
With immediate effect clauses and strict compliance instructions, the directives signal that the reshuffle is to be implemented without delay. Once carried out, the move is expected to substantially alter the staffing profile of both the FIA headquarters and immigration posts nationwide, marking a decisive shift towards field-oriented policing and immigration control.
