APROPOS the directive of Justice Gulzar Ahmed of the Supreme Court (Nov 24) about the establishment of the forensic laboratory in Sindh.

This is a specialised work because wrong diagnosis could lead to the gallows.

A forensic laboratory plays an integral role in the criminal justice system. It identifies DNA, weapons, poison, fingerprints, blood, forged documents, tool marks, food adulteration, etc. Thus we need to establish separate units of forensic DNA lab like ballistic lab, handwriting and dactylography, serology, toxicology, audiovisual cyber lab and forensic pathology units.

Rapid modernisation and expositional sophistication have taken place over the last century in the field of forensic science, but as most forensic labs in Sindh do not have qualified staff, there is a need for modern forensic labs to curb crime.

Dr Shafi Muhammad Nizam
Malaysia

Published in Dawn, December 13th, 2018