New biometric technology to help identify unclaimed bodies

The Punjab Safe Cities Authority (PSCA) has procured 100 specialised biometric machines from abroad to speed up the identification of unclaimed bodies and missing persons through its 'Meri Pehchan Centre', officials said.

The newly acquired machines are designed to facilitate biometric identification of unidentified bodies for which conventional biometric devices cannot be used, officials said.

They said the new technology would make the identification process faster and more effective, reducing the time required to resolve cases involving unclaimed bodies and helping authorities trace their families.

The Meri Pehchan service uses biometric identification linked with the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) database to identify missing persons, including mentally and physically vulnerable people, as well as unidentified bodies.

According to PSCA officials, more than 7,000 cases involving unidentified bodies have so far been processed through the Meri Pehchan Centre, while more than 5,000 unidentified bodies have been identified and handed over to their families.

Officials said the system had also helped identify more than 4,000 mentally and physically vulnerable people and reunite them with their families.

PSCA has previously reported cases in which unidentified people were traced through the service and reunited with their families.

According to the authority's official material, the technology has enabled the identification of an unidentified person within minutes in at least one case.

The authority's 2025 performance figures, reported earlier this year, had put the number of unidentified and elderly people reunited with their families through Meri Pehchan at 5,000.