That Uzbek militants have been involved in terrorist acts from Waziristan Agency is not so unfamiliar a piece of news but the latest claim of a Jamaat-e-Islami senator, confirmed by a FATA Secretariat official, that Uzbek militants use the Islamabad airport for entering and exiting the country has really sent ripples through the general perception of the capital city’s airport as a secure point of transport.

Jamaat-e-Islami senator Muhammad Ibrahim Khan has told media that information from North Waziristan reveals the use of Islamabad airport by Uzbek militants for a number of years. The Uzbek militants, coming from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, land in Islamabad and travel by hiring cabs to their target destinations. FATA secretariat officials have confirmed the claim, adding that Uzbek militants also travel to Balochistan for carrying out their activities.

An FIA spokesman, however, is reported to have denied the claim that Uzbek militants have been using Islamabad airport. He said that the airport has been closely watched for any suspicious activity but none has come to the notice of the FIA. But then a former director general of the FIA also left some room for the possibility of unlawful entry in the capital via the airport by saying that foreigners coming in disguise may evade the security watch of the airport staff.