ISLAMABAD: A parliamentary body on Thursday passed a bill that seeks to transform the National Forensic Science Agency (NFA) project into a full-fledged independent agency aimed at improving forensic capabilities in Pakistan.

The Senate Standing Committee on Interior, which met with Senator Faisal Saleem Rahman, passed the “National Forensic Agency Bill, 2024” proposed by Interior Minister Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi.

A senior MIA official while briefing the committee on the bill said that the NFA project was initiated in 2002 and now we want to make it a regular agency through the new legislation.

He said that through NFA, the existing conventional forensic laboratories and setting up a digital forensic laboratory which will provide services to all provinces, Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and government/private forensic laboratories. The NFA will integrate digital and cyber forensics to tackle crimes involving electronic devices, deep counterfeiting and other electronic crimes, he said.

The official said it will also develop a center of excellence and a research and development department to make it a self-sustainable agency.

According to a document tabled before the committee, the establishment of an independent NFA in Pakistan is essential to address the challenges arising from the current fragmented forensic services that lead to inconsistent standards and capabilities across the country.

It is said that the centralization of forensic operations at the national level will enable the NFA to effectively respond to the increasing incidence of network and digital crimes, especially those involving inter-provincial and international incidents, coupled with advanced technologies such as Deepfake campaigns and Al – driven.

The urgent need for a robust, central digital forensics infrastructure integrated with conventional forensics is evident, as existing provincial capabilities lack a uniform accreditation system, which undermines the credibility of forensic evidence in court proceedings, it said.

He added that the urgency for a specialized agency is underscored by incidents of social media exploitation, deception of the general public and disinformation, which can undermine public trust in government institutions.

Recent examples of digital manipulation and impersonation have highlighted the inadequacy of current forensic capabilities, it said, adding that the growing threat of digital attacks, from terrorist financing, child pornography to cyber espionage, required a

sophisticated and coordinated response that only a national agency like NFA can provide.

The committee also discussed the “Pakistan Penal Code (Amendment) Bill, 2023”, which seeks to increase the punishment for rapists, proposed by Senator Mohsin Aziz.

He said that rape cases have increased these days. In Pakistan’s current criminal justice system there are provisions that anyone who rapes a minor or a person with mental and physical disabilities will be punished with death or life imprisonment, but sometimes rapists are released because of loopholes in subsection (3). ) of section 376. The main objective to increase the punishment of rapists, he said.

The commission has formed a sub-committee on the bill which will include representatives of the legal fraternity, human rights organizations and the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The Committee also passed the “Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill of 2024” proposed by Senator Dr. Afnanullah Khan, who calls for those who knowingly or intentionally engaged in the preaching of Zionism to incite and cause hatred in society to be sentenced to three years in prison. or with a fine of Rs.40,000.

The bill says that those who display symbols of Zionism to spread hatred and cause disturbances in public peace will be punished with two years in prison or 30,000 lei.

The Committee also passed the “Provincial Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2024”, “Factories (Amendment) Bill, 2024”, “Payment of Wages Amendment Bill, 2024” and “The Islamabad Rent Restriction (Amendment) , 2024”, proposed by Senator Mohsin Aziz.

The meeting was attended by senators Shahadat Awan, Samina Mumtaz Zehri, Palwasha Mohammad Zai Khan, dr. Afnanullah Khan and Mohsin Aziz as well as senior officials of relevant government departments.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024