Sindh to build state-of-the-art forensic lab in two years: Wahab

The Sindh government will build a state-of-the-art forensic laboratory in Karachi, the first of its kind in Sindh, within two-and-a-half years.

The adviser to the Sindh chief minister on information and law, Barrister Murtaza Wahab, said this on Sunday while speaking to media personnel. According to Wahab, the laboratory will be fully equipped on modern lines and its feasibility and technical reports had already been prepared.

The adviser said it was a wrong impression that there existed no forensic lab in the province. He maintained that a forensic lab was functioning at the Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences, Jamshoro that was being primarily used for research. However, it was not equipped with all the modern tools, he said.

The land for the new forensic laboratory had been demarcated in District Malir, Wahab said, adding that all the required funds for the project had also been allocated.

“The state-of-the-art Sindh Forensic Science Lab will be completed in two to two-and-a-half-years. It will be a unique gift of the Sindh government to the people of the province,” the adviser remarked, adding that every Pakistani would be able to avail services at the laboratory.

The adviser informed the media personnel that presently a forensic lab in Lahore was carrying out DNA tests. He claimed that the new laboratory in Sindh will be equipped with the latest equipment and technologies that are being employed all over the world for conducting forensic investigations. Provisions will be also made for the due upgrade and expansion of the laboratory in the future in accordance with technological advancements in the world, Wahab said.

According to the adviser, the new laboratory will also provide forensic services to national and international agencies for investigation and research purposes, just like the HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry at University of Karachi was providing services to various organisations and foreign countries regarding chemical tests.“The income generated by the laboratory will be used to meet recurring expenditures of the facility and pay researchers associated with it,” Wahab said.