Additional IG (AIG) Counter-Terrorism Department Sanaullah Abbasi on Thursday expressed his concerns on extortion calls to Pakistani citizens originating from abroad which have not ceased completely despite the much improved law and order situation in the country, DawnNewsTV reported.

According to figures quoted by the AIG, 68 businessmen and 31 doctors based in Karachi have received phone calls from abroad for extortion in the past five years.

During the same time span, the AIG said, 108 Karachiites were phoned for extortion from abroad — of which 36 callers were from South Africa and 24 were from Afghanistan.

DIG Abbasi's breakdown of statistics showed that the number of extortion calls have gone down each year but have not evaporated completely.

Read: Menace of extortion

Thirty-one cases of extortion calls from abroad were reported in 2013, while the total for 2012 was 30. The figures declined to 25 and 13 in 2015 and 2016 respectively, whereas 6 such cases were reported in 2017.

The figure for the current year stands at 3, with extortion calls made from the Netherlands, Afghanistan and Thailand.

The DIG said that local agents of foreign-based extortionists were arrested in Karachi, although no action has so far been taken against the extortionists themselves.

DIG Abbasi, however, said that the charge sheet and other pieces of evidence will now be used to take action against such elements.

"Pakistan will raise this matter at international fora," he said. "We will present all of this to international organisations."

He also said it had been decided that Interpol's assistance will be sought on the matter.