The Punjab government is considering to establish a state-of-the-art 'Explosives Analysis Laboratory', at a cost of Rs 100 million, to examine and determine the nature of explosive devices, an official of the Home Department said here on Saturday. The lab would be established in the Civil Defence Wing under the administrative control of Home Department, he added.
Following the recent rise in suicide attacks across the province, great need has been felt for a high quality explosives lab to help the investigators in discovering the origin of the culprits. Currently, the explosive materials used, and defused during searches, is delivered to the Civil Defence Wing, without any further chemical and mechanical examination, the official said.
He said the agencies dealing with explosive materials at international level have very modern, scientific laboratories to examine and determine the nature of explosive devices, their origin, and their manufacturing methods. Such labs help the investigators in discovering the terrorists/persons involved in such activities, and locate the networks of the groups responsible.
To establish this lab, the government would constitute a committee comprising technical experts from army, civil law enforcement agencies, and experts with electrical, mechanical and electronics background, the official said. He said that these experts would determine the feasibility, structure, equipment and other infrastructure for the lab.