02 January 2004	Friday	09 Ziqa'ad 1424

PESHAWAR, Jan 1: The government is likely to promulgate an ordinance to pave the way for the establishment of forensic science laboratories (FSLs). Official sources said that regional forensic science laboratories (RFSLs) would be established in Karachi , Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta, whereas a national forensic science laboratory (NFSL) in Islamabad for which an amount of Rs1.3 billion had been allocated two years ago.

PC-1 for the establishment of the laboratories had already been approved, but there is no law under which the project could be undertaken, officials told Dawn.

"For this purpose a draft ordinance has been prepared after extensive consultations by the interior ministry, which is supposed to implement the project in collaboration with the National Police Bureau, Islamabad," the officials said, adding that it would be completed within three years, and would require Rs193.86 million for its annual expenditure.

The decision to establish the laboratories was taken in view of the rise in the incidents of terrorism, heinous offences and the government's commitment to improve justice system in the country.

Under the project, the RFSLs, which were operational in all the provinces from the past 25 years would be merged with the new set-up, because they had outlived their utility due to lack of proper staffing patterns, modern scientific knowledge and training.

The officials said that the establishment of the RFSLs would offer significant improvement in detecting crimes and provision of justice. The capacity of law enforcement agencies would improve and the investigation officers would have modern scientific tools at their disposal improving their quality of investigation and subsequently conviction by the courts on the basis of impartial objective and scientific evidence instead of tainted eye-witness accounts, the officials observed.

The RFSLs along with the NFSL would be integrated into an autonomous body, the National Forensic Science Agency (NFSA), which had already been established at the interior ministry in 2001.

The officials, however, expressed concern over the snail's pace progress on the project. They said that according to the PC- 1, the directors of the regional FSLs were required to be on the board of governors, who could provide relevant data in line with the prevalent environment in their respective provinces, but the regional directors of the RFSLs, had not been included in the board of governors and was instead run by one project director with two assistants. The law enforcement agencies would have to pay for the tests they conduct at the RFSLs.