KARACHI: The establishment of the first and state-of-the-art Sindh Forensic Science Laboratory (SFSL) in Karachi in full swing and around 40 percent construction work of the lab has been completed since the approval of revised PC-I in May 2022.
Briefing about the project to a group of journalists, Project Director Faisal Ahmed Uqaili informed that the total cost of the project including forensic lab equipment is around Rs 20 billion.
The first PC-I for the construction of Forensic Lab was approved in 2016 with the cost of Rs 2.6 billion however, the project didn’t kick off and no progress at site was started for 6 years till 2022 as major project components were not covered in the initial PC-I.
However, during the last year revised PC1 was approved and work was started on the site, located at Deh Joreji district Malir. “Around 40 percent construction work of the lab has been completed till date since the approval of revised PC-I in May 2022 and now Rs 9 billion new ADP Scheme is included in current fiscal year budget to purchase lab equipment and furniture, and spending on HR training”, he added.
The allocation of project construction funds in the CFY 2023-24 is Rs 2.7 billion, and the cost of revised PC-1 is Rs 5.426 billion while cumulative expenditure till date is Rs 1.946 billion, Faisal informed.
In addition, initially, a total of 68 posts including DG SFSA, junior scientists, and others have been announced.
He hoped that the establishment of handling of criminal cases through forensic science evidence plays a critical role in determining the evidence based and accurate outcome of criminal cases.
In terms of ballistic analysis, forensic science laboratories analyze firearms, bullets, and cartridge cases to determine whether they were used in a particular crime, he added.
Faisal informed that 14 forensic disciplines have been planned at SFSL which include Digital Forensic, DNA and Serology, Pathology, Latent Fingerprint, Trace Chemistry/Toxicology, Audio Visual Analysis, Firearm and Tool Marks, Narcotics, Toxicology Forensic, Polygraph, Computer Forensic, Crime Scene and Death Scene Situation, Question Documents, and Forensic Photograph.
Director General Punjab Forensic Science Agency Dr. M. Ashraf Tahir is on board for project consultations and guidance, and currently, he is a pro-bono consultant on this project,” said Faisal.
Talking about the reasons behind the establishment of the SFSL, he informed that Provincial Apex Committee on Law & Order in 2013 while recognizing the weaknesses in prosecution services system due to lack of forensic lab facilities in Sindh envisaged to revamp criminal prosecution service by establishing state-of-art forensic lab.
According to Bureau of Statistics’ report, the total number of reported crimes in Sindh from 2010 till 2020 was 861,681.
Overall some 30 acres of state land (free of cost) was allotted by the government of Sindh for the establishment of SFSL at Deh Joreji, Bin Qasim Town, off link road N5 Eastern Bye Pass, District Malir, Karachi, he mentioned.
Also, the government of Sindh legislated the Forensic Science Agency Act in August 2017 called “The Sindh Forensic Science Agency Act 2017”.
The construction of the project is in full swing due to complete support from the Sindh government and monitoring and supervision of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, Karachi registry, he informed.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023