Red warrant: Interpol seeks details of Altaf’s status from UK

Move came after Pakistan through the FIA formally requested Interpol for the release of Hussain’s red warrant

ISLAMABAD: The International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) Headquarters in France has contacted British Interpol and sought details of the legal status of Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) founder Altaf Hussain’s stay in Britain, sources in the Ministry of Interior stated on Saturday.

The move came after the government of Pakistan through the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) formally requested Interpol for the release of Hussain’s red warrant.

The MQM founder, who now heads the MQM-London, is wanted by courts with regard to different criminal activities.

In June, Pakistani authorities sought red warrant for Hussain after fulfilling legal formalities. This is the second time the Pakistani authorities have approached Interpol for issuance of the red warrant for the London-based politician.



A similar attempt was made in February which was not honoured by Interpol citing some legal hitches. In its response to the government move, Interpol had reportedly stated that “it does not intervene in political and religious matters of a state”.

Interpol also sought a clarification from the government over its request for the red warrant against Hussain, besides asking for details of sedition charges against him.

An Interpol notice is an international alert circulated to communicate information about crimes, criminals and threats from police in a member state or an authorised international entity to their counterparts around the world.

The information disseminated via notices concerns individuals wanted for serious crimes, missing persons, unidentified bodies, possible threats, prison escapes and criminals’ modus operandi.



A red-warrant or a red notice is a request to locate and provisionally arrest an individual pending extradition. It is issued by the General Secretariat of Interpol at the request of a member country or an international tribunal based on a valid national arrest warrant.

Interpol cannot compel any member country to arrest an individual who is the subject of a Red Notice. Each member country decides for itself what legal value to give a Red Notice within their borders.

In its previous attempt, the Pakistani authorities had approached Interpol, making the letter of the Sindh Home Department as the basis for seeking the red warrant.

According to the sources, some more documents have been attached with the latest request to make it more ‘reasonable’ for the international police.