THE Sindh government has reportedly allocated three billion rupees for a forensic lab for the Sindh police. I wonder why each and every department is interested in establishing a separate forensic lab. Do we have competent people in the Sindh government who can run the forensic lab?

The forensic laboratory is a complex affair as several subs-specialties such as

(1) forensic toxicology, (2) forensic pathology, (3) ballistic testing lab, (4) forensic molecular biology (DNA), (5) forensic document examination, (6) food section, (7) biotech section, (8) environmental section, and (9) forensic cyber section, including audiovisual and digital devices examination.

All this needs a lot of investment in procuring technical material and qualified and trained staff.

Dr Shafi Muhammad Nizamani

Malaysia

Published in Dawn, June 22nd, 2017