PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Monday submitted a detailed Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report to the Peshawar High Court in a case concerning flaws in the criminal justice system.
The report revealed that 83,000 samples were pending testing at the FSL because the laboratory was operating with only 50 percent of the required staff.In this regard, Additional Advocate General (AAG) Nauman Kakakhel submitted the report before the chief justice in the case related to reforms in the criminal justice system.
According to the AAG, the country’s only FSL laboratory currently had 83,000 samples awaiting examination. The FSL has 44 staff members, whereas 85 personnel are required for smooth operations.
The sources said Chief Justice SM Attique Shah expressed concern over the backlog of cases and the shortage of staff at the FSL, terming it an alarming situation that half of the required workforce is missing.
The chief justice observed that there was only one laboratory handling 83,000 pending cases, and therefore a larger bench would be constituted to issue necessary directions to the relevant authorities based on the report.It is worth mentioning that a larger bench had already been formed to examine the shortcomings in the criminal justice system.
