LAHORE: On Friday, the Punjab government passed a controversial piece of legislation that dissolved the Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA) and established a new body which will be directly overseen by the chief minister and primarily staffed by bureaucrats.

The move is seen as an attempt by the provincial government to consolidate greater control over forensic science services in the province.

The Punjab Forensic Science Authority Act 2025 was tabled in the Punjab Assembly by Punjab Minister for Finance Mujtaba Shuja ur Rehman on February 12. It was subsequently passed on March 14.

What does new law entail?

The law establishes a new forensics body, known as the Punjab Forensic Science Authority, that will replace the existing PFSA as well as repeal the Punjab Forensic Science Agency Act 2007, which previously governed the agency’s structure and operations.

Headquartered in Lahore, the PFSA was a specialised agency tasked with providing forensic science services to law-enforcement agencies and offering expert testimony in criminal courts.

Under the 2007 law, the PFSA was led by a director general. The new legislation, however, places the Punjab Forensic Science Authority under the direct control of Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif, who will chair the body, with 13 additional members appointed to oversee its operations.

The 13 members will be headed by a vice-chairperson, as well as the secretaries of various provincial departments — home, finance, law, planning and public prosecution. Additional members will include the inspector general of police or his/her nominee, a director general and five experts in the fields of criminology, molecular sciences, pathology and cybercrime analysis.

One of the most notable changes is that the 2007 law required the director general to be a qualified expert in forensic sciences. But the 2025 legislation has done away with this requirement.

The law further states that the director general will serve “at the pleasure of the chief minister,” with the terms of his/her appointment determined by the chief minister. Under the previous law, the director general could only be removed if misconduct was proven, amongst other things.

The new law stipulates that, in the event of a vacancy in the director general’s position, a bureaucrat from the Pakistan Administrative Services (PAS) or the Provincial Management Services (PMS) with a rank of BS-20 will be appointed.

Another significant provision in the new legislation is the introduction of majority voting for decision-making within the authority. It must be noted that at least nine of the 14 members of the authority are either from the provincial government or appointed by it. This differs from the previous setup, which had no such voting system.

Moreover, the new law expands the definition of “forensic materials” to include a wider range of evidence, such as biological samples, documents, cybercrime materials and audio and video recordings.

The statement of objects of the law claims that the previous agency had become overloaded with workload and pending cases. “It is a dire need of time to establish and constitute an authority for the quick disposal of cases and to provide an unbiased scientific opinion,” the statement adds.

However, it is unclear how the new authority, staffed largely with bureaucrats, will lead to more efficient case processing.

The News reached out to Punjab’s Minister for Finance Mujtaba Shuja ur Rahman, who had initially tabled the bill, but he did not respond to requests for comments.

What is govt’s justification?

Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari defended the law, saying that placing the chief minister in charge of the authority would ensure better financial and administrative control. “This will give greater financial and administrative ownership to the new authority and will create a sense of urgency and efficiency,” she said in a written response to The News.

She added that the old PFSA’s building, equipment and capacity had not been updated since 2016, while Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has allocated Rs8 billion to modernise the Authority with new equipment, infrastructure and construction and upgradation of the building.

Addressing the removal of the requirement for the director general to be a forensic expert, Bokhari claimed that the previous qualifications were no longer suitable because international experts could not compete for the position.

“The government has now opened up the process, allowing even senior police officers with relevant qualifications and expertise to apply,” she told The News.

Experts raise concerns

Legal experts are sounding alarms over the potential politicisation and erosion of forensic independence under the new law, arguing that the law could undermine the impartiality of forensic analysis and affect the provincial justice system.

Lawyer Rida Hosain told The News that the law creates a forensic authority that will be perceived as serving the provincial government. She added that one of the most striking changes was that the director general of the forensic authority will now serve at the “pleasure” of the chief minister and can be removed arbitrarily.

“Under the previous law, the director general could only be removed on specified grounds such as misconduct”, Hosain said, adding that now members may be punished “for taking independent decisions”.

Hosain also criticised the composition of the new authority, which she noted includes only five experts, all of whom serve at the government’s discretion and may be removed arbitrarily.

“Instead of creating an authority composed of experts that take independent decisions, the law ensures that the government officials/government nominees are in the majority, and any opposition can be punished by removal,” she said.

Asad Rahim Khan, a Lahore-based lawyer, expressed similar concerns. He stated that in the past the Punjab Forensic Science Agency had commended itself many times, especially in the field of crime-solving.

“For its director general to no longer have to be well-versed in forensic sciences is yet another win for an overly politicised, overly generalist, and overly pliant civil service,” he told The News.

Originally published in The News