Terrorists to get matching response:Rana Sana Ullah :Rana Sana Ullah

Lahore: Punjab Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs, Rana Sana Ullah Khan has said that from the very first day eradicating terrorism and extremism has been the top priority of government of the Punjab. The technologies and tactic employed by terrorists and non-state actors to destabilize our society would find a matching response from the Punjab government, he added.

He was speaking on the occasion of the closing ceremony of the Training Programme by Australian Federal Police to the Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA), Thokar Niaz Baig here today. Rana Sana Ullah Khan said that he was pleased to know that the Australian Federal Police through its Law Enforcement Assistance Programme to Pakistan, has supported a number of technical forensic capacity equipments. He said that to achieve terrorism free society, our efforts include unprecedented reforms in Prisons department, improving access to justice, eradicate Thana culture and introducing long-term reforms for the de-radicalization of the society and poverty alleviation strategies. He said that establishment of Punjab Forensic Science Agency is a first step towards modernizing our criminal justice system by legal reforms, state-of-the-art technologies, integration and creation of pre-emptive intelligence gathering system and to de-radicalize the society through initiative for poverty reduction, healthcare initiative, madrrissah reforms and reintegration of disgruntled elements in the main stream.

Law Minister said that the scientific analysis and report generated by PFSA are assisting the law-enforcing agencies in successful investigation and it is the first step towards replacing oral evidence with empirical testimony in courts of law. He said that absence of forensic expertise in terms of human resource in this field has been the greatest challenge posed to us. He said that the collaboration of Australian Federal Police with Punjab Forensic Science Agency is a new milestone in our fight against crime and terrorism.

Earlier, Dr. Ashraf Tahir, Director General Forensic Lab said that the course aimed at to train first line supervisor in undertaking quality system, quality assurance, method validation, verifications and accreditation to effectively run a modern forensic facility. He said that latest equipments worth Rs.15.58 million have been donated by the Australian Federal Police to Punjab Forensic Science Agency.