The Interior Ministry on Friday approved a request by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for red warrants of three suspects in the murder of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Imran Farooq.

Following the approval, FIA will contact the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) to send out red warrants for three prominent MQM-London members — Anwar Hussain, Iftikhar Hussain and Kashif Khan Kamran.

The FIA will also contact the Interpol headquarter in France to ask for assistance in the ongoing murder investigation.

According to the approval notice, a copy of which is available with DawnNews, the FIA has been requested to carry out an "in-depth scrutiny of the documents so as to gauge its legal and technical strength, before filing an application for issuance of red notice with the Interpol".

The agency has been directed to ensure the arrest of the three suspects and have them brought back to Pakistan as soon as the warrants are issued.

Earlier this month, an anti-terrorism court had issued non-bailable arrest warrants for MQM founder Altaf Hussain during a hearing of Farooq's murder case in Adiala Jail.

Farooq, aged 50, was on his way home from work when he was attacked in Green Lane on September 16, 2010, outside his London home. A post-mortem examination had revealed that he died from multiple stab wounds and blunt trauma to the head.

A five-and-a-half inch bladed kitchen knife and a house brick used in the attack were recovered at the scene, London police had said in the report.

FIA had registered a case against the MQM founder and other senior party leaders in 2015 for their alleged involvement in Farooq's murder. Mohsin, Moazzam and Shamim were arrested in the same year over suspicion of involvement in the killing.

Relevant clauses of the Anti-Terrorism Act and the clauses of conspiracy, assistance, abatement and assassination/murder were included in the first information report.