Red warrants for Altaf: legal wing begins parleys on Interpol reply

The Interior Ministry''s legal wing has begun internal consultations on the clarification sought by Interpol on the government''s request for issuance of a red warrant to bring Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) founder Altaf Hussain back to Pakistan for his hate speech.
An official source toldBusiness Recorder that Interpol responded to the Interior Ministry''s letter seeking the issuance of a red warrant against the MQM founder and has sought clarification on his precise involvement in specific crimes. "The Interpol has asked Pakistan to explain what kind of criminality exists in the case [hate speech] which could lead to issuance of a red warrant against Altaf Hussain," he said, adding that Interpol has asked Pakistan to submit a response by March 13, 2017.
The Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on February 7 approved sending a formal request to Interpol to issue a ''red warrant'' for the MQM Founder, following a request from the home department of Sindh for his August 22, 2016 hate speech against Pakistan and its institutions.
An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on January 19, 2017 asked the Sindh police to approach the Federal Ministry of Interior to get a red warrant issued against the MQM Founder in three identical cases pertaining to his anti-state speech. The official said the purpose of Interpol''s red notice is to seek the location of a wanted person and his/her detention/arrest or restriction of movement for the purpose of extradition, surrender, or similar lawful action.
Under the procedure, a district police officer (DPO) concerned or officer in-charge of the same level forwards a request for requesting Interpol to issue a red warrant to the inspector general of police, who then forwards it to the home department (provincial government) for onward submission to the Ministry of Interior.
After the approval, the Ministry of Interior refers the same to the director general (DG) FIA, head of National Central Bureau (NCB) Interpol, Islamabad. The NCB-Interpol of the FIA reviews the request approved by the Minister of Interior and collects required documents for submission to Interpol. The requirement of red notice includes red notice application form, copy of an FIR, statement of witnesses, summary of the case, warrant of arrest under section 204 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) issued by the court, proclamation order against accused under sections 87 and 204 of CrPC by the court, photograph and travel documents of the accused, etc.