Punjab police told to have suspects' biometrics verified before taking them to jail.

RAWALPINDI -- The Punjab police have been directed to get suspects' biometrics verified by the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) before shifting them to prisons across the province.

A directive to the police said jail authorities will not accept any suspects without a certified copy of their biometric verification, official sources told Dawn.

They said a copy of an individual's CNIC or Form B is mandatory with a small fee to have biometrics verified by Nadra.

According to jail authorities, they do not have a system in place to verify the identities of prisoners. The provincial authorities have therefore sought assistance from the federal government and Nadra.

They said the directed police to have the biometrics of suspects verified before bringing them to a prison in light of orders from the Lahore High Court.

But a senior prison department official said that under prison rules, they cannot refuse custody of a suspect because the police cannot keep anyone in their custody for more than three days.

'Biometric verification is very important and the identity of the accused is one of the three major components of the criminal justice system,' he said, adding that verifying the identity of a suspect should be ensured at police stations to prevent impersonation.

The new directives have led to confusion among the police, who believe it would be a problem for them to first go to Nadra to have suspects' identities...