World
Pakistan's Interpol Bureau Issues 286 Red Notices, Secures 53 Extraditions in Seven Months
Pakistan's National Central Bureau (NCB) for Interpol issued 286 Red Notices over a seven-month period targeting fugitives wanted for murder, fraud, terrorism and human trafficking, according to Federal Investigation Agency Director General Dr Usman Anwar. A Red Notice requests law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally detain an individual pending extradition or similar legal proceedings.
Anwar, who leads NCB-Interpol Pakistan, made the announcement to mark World Day of International Police Cooperation, pledging continued efforts to deepen cooperation with Interpol and international partners.
National Central Bureaus act as each country's designated contact point for Interpol operations, linking domestic law enforcement with counterparts abroad and with Interpol's General Secretariat via a secure communications system called I-24/7, which provides real-time database access.
Anwar reported that Pakistan's bureau issued 290 Interpol notices in total during this period, including 286 Red Notices, two Blue Notices and two Yellow Notices. Yellow Notices assist in locating missing persons, particularly children, or identifying individuals unable to provide their own identification, whereas Blue Notices are used to gather supplementary information.
Breaking down the Red Notices, 225 concerned suspects wanted for murder or attempted murder, while 33 involved cases of kidnapping, corruption, robbery and cybercrime. An additional 19 notices addressed financial fraud, six targeted human trafficking suspects, and three concerned terrorism cases.
During the same period, international cooperation led to the arrest and extradition of 53 fugitives wanted in Pakistan for serious offenses, who were apprehended in various countries and returned to face justice.
"Today's crimes are increasingly international. Cybercrime, fugitives and stolen goods driven by organised groups — none of these respect borders," Anwar told Dawn. "We seek information from other NCBs to help investigations in Pakistan, and we share our criminal data to assist other countries."
He emphasized that national bureaus play a vital role since they can initiate law enforcement action within their own countries and liaise directly with foreign counterparts, even in cases where formal diplomatic ties do not exist between nations. "When a crime goes beyond our national jurisdiction, we need international support to solve it. Interpol provides that platform," he said.
Under Interpol's operational structure, national bureaus contribute crime data to global databases in line with domestic legislation. Red Notices alert police forces across all 196 Interpol member countries about wanted individuals.
Pakistan's bureau coordinates with domestic agencies, foreign NCBs, sub-bureaus, and Interpol's General Secretariat offices to manage cross-border investigations, operations and arrests.
Anwar noted growing regional collaboration as nations pool resources to address common security challenges. "We are also building capacity at home. NCBs develop training programmes for national police to raise awareness of Interpol's tools and databases so that our officers can use them effectively on the ground," he said.
He added: "FIA NCB-Interpol Pakistan remains committed to ensuring that no fugitive finds safe haven abroad. Through I-24/7 and our network of partners, we will keep pursuing criminals and bringing them to justice."
Separately, National Accountability Bureau Chairman Lt General (retired) Nazir Ahmed disclosed in April that Interpol had issued Red Notices against Bahria Town owner Malik Riaz and his son Ali Riaz. Last month, the National Cybercrime Investigation Agency arrested two suspects linked to the "Tycoon2FA Cybercrime Network" and began proceedings to secure Red Notices for four remaining alleged members of the group.