July 24, 2003	Thursday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 23, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, July 23: The government has decided to introduce a bill in the parliament for withdrawing five major functions from the police, including DNA test, and placing them under the National Forensic Science Agency, officials told Dawn on Wednesday.

They said that the Establishment Division was currently finalising the draft of the bill to be sent to the Ministry of Law and Justice for vetting within the next 10 days.

The bill envisages creation of the following five new departments in the NFSA namely the DNA department, scientific investigation department, chemical examination department, forensic microbiology department and bacteriology department.

To strengthen these five departments, the government has also decided to set up provincial forensic science agencies with their headquarters in Islamabad.

Sources said that officials concerned had recommended that the NFSA be brought on par with the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission in terms of organisational structure. “The objective is to offer better salaries and other facilities to employees of the Agency so that they should not indulge in corrupt practices like the police does”, one of the sources said.

He said that terms and conditions for employment in the Agency were being finalised. However, he said that the concurrence of the Establishment Division would be necessary to offer the status of PAEC to the NFSA.

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has been directed to provide land for the construction of NFSA complex in Islamabad. Likewise, provincial departments concerned have been instructed to provide land for establishing provincial forensic science agencies there.

Sources said that the NFSA was expected to be operational by 2006. “Our efforts would be to complete the job before 2006, eliminating the role of the police from various investigative functions,” an official said.