Earlier this year, Karachi was the first city of Pakistan to receive a DNA Lab. The lab was inaugurated by Chief Minister, Syed Qaim Ali Shah, it was made with the intentions to help thwart the rate of crimes in the region by helping the local authorities with finding matches for DNA evidence rapidly and without many barriers.
The current DNA Lab in Karachi, consists of forensic, toxicology and molecular labs and is capable of issuing reports within 72 hours which is a huge step up from the previous period of weeks leading into months. It is currently being operated at Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences (LUMHS) with financial assistance being provided by the Sindh Government. The lab is supervised by a staff of 5 PhD experts with formal training from the UK.
In a recent post by NADRA (National Database and Registration Authority) on their Facebook page, the government body is looking to bring the revolutionary technology all over Pakistan now to help thwart crime in all the major regions of Pakistan.
A one-of-its-kind DNA lab will be set up in Pakistan in the next six months. #PakIdentity
Posted by NADRA on Monday, August 3, 2015
The objective of the DNA lab will help solve cases that involve DNA evidence in the span of a few short days instead of months, which is the current standard for these kinds of cases. Since NADRA already collects a lot of data pertaining to an individual’s biometric information, it is good to see them working on an initiative and using collected data towards a beneficial cause.
NADRA does after all handle your fingerprints and other identifiers, which no other authority currently handles, so with this move, we can be optimistic towards a future of reduced crime rate in all the regions of Pakistan.
What are your thoughts on the DNA Lab? Let us know in the comments.
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