Sindh’s new forensic science laboratory is nearing completion and is expected to become fully operational by December 2026, according to officials who reviewed the project’s progress during a meeting at the Sindh Assembly Building. Progress on the laboratory, along with the digitization and automation of the Sindh Criminal Prosecution Service, was examined during the session, chaired by Sindh Assembly Standing Committee on Home Chairperson Faryal Talpur and attended by Home and Law Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar, senior government officials, and forensic and technical experts. The facility, known as the Sindh Forensic Science Laboratory (SFSL), traces back to a 2013 decision by the Provincial Apex Committee on Law and Order, which identified the absence of forensic lab facilities as a key weakness in Sindh’s prosecution service and called for establishing a state-of-the-art laboratory in Karachi.
Officials said construction of the laboratory building has entered its final stages, with preparations underway to make the facility fully functional ahead of its targeted December operational date. The project has had a long and uneven history, with its first PC-I approved back in 2016 at a cost of Rs 2.6 billion, but no meaningful progress at the Deh Joreji site in Malir until a revised PC-I was approved in May 2022, after which construction finally began in earnest. Once operational, the laboratory will offer DNA and biological examination, fingerprint analysis, toxicology and drug testing, firearms and ballistics examination, crime-scene analysis, evidence recovery and preservation, and digital and computer forensics, spanning a broad range of disciplines consistent with the 14-discipline scope originally envisioned under Sindh’s 2017 Forensic Science Agency Act.
The meeting also reviewed equipment requirements, recruitment of qualified personnel, specialized training, quality assurance, and international accreditation, addressing the operational readiness questions that typically determine whether a newly built forensic facility can function at the standard required for evidence to hold up in court. International experts briefed participants on global practices for operating multidisciplinary forensic laboratories and discussed models relevant to law enforcement agencies, prosecution services, and judicial institutions, giving Sindh officials a reference point for aligning the SFSL’s eventual operations with internationally recognized forensic standards. This emphasis on accreditation and quality assurance reflects longstanding criticism that Sindh’s existing forensic facilities have relied on outdated tools, resulting in unreliable results and unnecessary delays in criminal investigations.
Faryal Talpur said the project should be developed as a credible scientific institution capable of providing police, prosecutors, and courts with timely, reliable, and scientifically verifiable evidence, directing relevant departments to coordinate on infrastructure, technology, staffing, training, and operational protocols to ensure the laboratory becomes fully functional as planned. The push toward a fully operational SFSL also runs alongside a separate Sindh Police initiative, announced in July 2026, to establish a dedicated Digital Forensic Laboratory specifically for handling mobile phone and computer evidence, reflecting officials’ acknowledgment that nearly 97 percent of investigation cases now involve digital devices. With the main SFSL building nearing completion more than a decade after the project was first conceived, the practical test will be whether Sindh can resolve the staffing, equipment, and accreditation requirements discussed at this latest review in time to meet the December 2026 target for full operational capacity.
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