Forensic voice identification
Once again, Pakistanis are left confused about the authenticity of PML-N's claim. The PML-N produced an audiotape that allegedly contains a conversation between PML-Q leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi and an unidentified person about a plan to sabotage the nomination process of Mian Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif.
As expected, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi counter-alleged the tape to be fake. In this day and age of digital wizardry, there shouldn't be any ambiguity about the authenticity of such allegations.
Voice patterns of any given person are as unique as his/her fingerprints. Cheap and more powerful computers have transformed the art of 'forensic voice identification' into a science. Such technology had been in use for many years by CIA to identify and isolate and track audio signatures of people of interest out of millions of other noises. Some of the American police departments are even employing this technology as lie detectors. If Pakistani agencies are still living in Stone Age, a news outlet should be able to make a small investment in buying a software like 'VoiceVault'. Instead of guessing, such technologies should enable the media to confirm or deny such accusations.
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