Pakistan’s Interior Ministry is moving to establish a centralised national criminal database that would bring together law-enforcement records from across the country and assign a unique identification number to individuals listed as offenders.

Under the proposed system, criminal records currently held separately by provincial police departments and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) would be consolidated at the Command-and-Control Center of the National Police Bureau.

The initiative includes the creation of a Federal Crime List (FCL), bringing together records provided by provincial Inspectors General of Police and the FIA under a single framework.

The database is expected to cover proclaimed offenders, court absconders and people wanted under arrest warrants or detention orders. It would also include individuals linked to banned organisations and inter-provincial or cross-border organised crime networks.

The proposed database would extend beyond conventional criminal records, covering cases related to drug and human trafficking, illegal migration, terrorist financing, money laundering, cybercrime and financial fraud.

Individuals subject to Interpol red notices or other international alerts would also be included, while information on offenders and absconders could be shared among provinces to improve coordination between law-enforcement agencies.

A key element of the plan is a unique national criminal identification number for every person entered into the Federal Crime List. Where possible, the number would be linked to the individual’s national identity card, allowing authorities to cross-reference criminal records with verified identity information.

The proposed system would mark a significant shift from fragmented criminal records towards a unified digital database, potentially giving law-enforcement agencies faster access to information across provincial boundaries.