KARACHI: Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad Khan, also the chancellor of public sector universities in the province, appreciated on Tuesday efforts of the law enforcement agencies (LEAs) in the Karachi operation and said it would continue without any compromise on it.

He was speaking as the chief guest at the launch of a facility for digital forensic science education at Karachi University (KU).

“The operation in Karachi will continue as great successes have been achieved. No compromise should be made in this regard,” he said, adding that the army and LEAs deserved great applause on the recovery of the Sindh chief justice’s son.

The army, he observed, was responsible for restoring peace to the country under the National Action Plan. “Pakistan’s stability lies in the stability of Karachi. Therefore, we will leave no stone unturned to maintain stability in the city,” he said.

The facility for forensic science education at KU, he said, would play an important role as a major component of the rule of law. “The rule of law, as we all know, requires a balance between rights and responsibilities and it is established when no one is considered above the law.

“The constitution guarantees fundamental rights and everyone is supposed to have access to justice including the accused,” he continued.

He congratulated KU vice chancellor Prof Muhammad Qaiser and his team for thinking of and creating the Centre for Digital Forensic Science and Technology despite the financial crunch the university faced.

“I understand that the financial position of the university is not very sound. The centre needs huge amount for infrastructure and logistics, the purchase of quite expensive kits such as mobile forensic kits, computer forensic kits etc.

“Therefore, I will request the government of Sindh and the federal government to provide funds to this centre as it can play an vital role in bringing stability to the country facing tremendous internal and external challenges,” he said.

Concluding his speech, he expressed the hope that the centre apart from imparting education would also provide technical training to LEAs officers and support to the criminal justice system through digital evidences.

“I hope that the facility will produce students of the highest intellectual potential, irrespective of their social, religious and financial backgrounds,” he said.

VC KU Prof Muhammad Qaiser highlighted the significance of forensic science in today’s world and said no country could progress until it kept pace with development in technology.

“Initially, the university will offer certificate courses in the relevant field but later take the education to the level of undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate studies.

“We plan to expand the facility’s scope within a year to include techniques like finger-printing and DNA sequencing, currently available the university’s centralized lab, in its ambit,” he said.

Digital forensic investigation, he said, was divided into several sub-branches depending on digital devices like computer forensics, network forensics, mobile device forensics etc.

“The centre will educate resolving complex criminal cases and will be a bridge in providing easy access to criminal justice system with its advanced curriculum.”

He thanked Sardar Yasin Malik and advisor to governor on higher education Syed Wajahat Ali for their support.

Dean faculty of management and administrative sciences KU Prof Khalid Iraqi also spoke.

Chief of the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee Sindh Muhammad Zubair Habib, deputy director general Rangers, Sindh, Brig Mohammad Azhar Khan and director general National Accountability Bureau Sindh retired colonel Siraj-ul-Naeem were also present.

Published in Dawn, July 20th, 2016