ISLAMABAD, Jan 26: The Interpol said on Thursday it had issued so-called red notices for ex-prime minister Benazir Bhutto and her husband Asif Ali Zardari at Islamabad’s request but clarified the move did not mean international arrest warrants and could be challenged.
As media reports about the notices and their different interpretations created a stir in political circles, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) termed the government’s approach to the International Police Commission (Interpol) a pressure tactic that it would challenge and said it had sought an explanation from the interior ministry.
“Following a request from the Pakistani authorities, the Interpol general secretariat has issued red notices for Benazir Bhutto and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari,” the Interpol office said in a statement sent in response to questions from this correspondent.
“A red notice is (a) notification that a bona fide arrest warrant exists for an individual suspected of committing a crime, or convicted by a court, in any of Interpol’s 184 member countries. A red notice is not an international arrest warrant,” it said.
A PPP spokesman, Senator Farhatullah Babar, called the government’s request to the Interpol as “a political move...which has nothing to do with prosecution”.
“It is aimed at pressurizing Benazir Bhutto and the PPP at a time when she has declared her intention to return to Pakistan. Such tactics in the past could not deter Benazir Bhutto or the PPP; they will not deter us now,” he said, adding: “A frustrated regime is doomed to fail.”
Mr Babar said Senator Farooq Naek, a defence lawyer for Ms Bhutto and Mr Zardari, had written to the interior ministry asking if it had approached the Interpol and on what basis. But he said no reply to the letter delivered on Thursday night had been received.
Another lawyer for Ms Bhutto, Babar Awan, told a news conference the move would be challenged before the Interpol.
The Interpol statement said: “Red notices are only issued if the requesting Interpol national central bureau has provided all the information required by the general secretariat, including details of a valid arrest warrant for the country in question.
“The Interpol general secretariat is committed to ensuring that red notices are issued and maintained in accordance with the organization’s constitution and rules which are based on the rule of law and international standards of police cooperation and fundamental human rights.
“The general secretariat reviews all red notices before and after they are published in order to ensure their consistency with Interpol’s rules, and in particular with Article 3 of the organization’s constitution which states that it is ‘strictly forbidden for the organization to undertake any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character.’ This prohibition is taken extremely seriously by Interpol.
“Many of Interpol’s member countries consider a red notice a valid request for provisional arrest, especially if they are linked to the requesting country via a bilateral extradition treaty. In cases where arrests are made based on a red notice, these are made by national police officials in Interpol member countries. Interpol’s general secretariat does not send officers to arrest individuals who are the subject of a red notice, and cannot demand that any member country arrest the subject of a red notice.
“Any member country may challenge the validity of a red notice if they believe it contravenes Article 3. The person who is the subject of a red notice may also challenge it.
“Whenever an Article 3 issue is raised, the request is examined carefully to ensure that the red notice in question does not contravene Interpol’s constitution.
“If the general secretariat determines that the case does not contravene Article 3, the member country which brought the challenge can take the matter to the executive committee, and ultimately to the general assembly, Interpol’s supreme governing body.
“These safeguards ensure a transparent and structured process to address and resolve such issues.”
