KATHMANDU, Nov 2: The Nepal Police and Qatar Police have inked a 'first of its kind' MoU to curb crimes in the two countries."The agreement will help the two countries to expand cooperation in tackling crimes that do not fall under Interpol's principle of predominance such as political, military, religious, social and cultural," SSP Uttam Raj Subedi, spokesman of Nepal Police, said.
This MoU is the first of its kind for us, he said.
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The MoU was signed between the Director of Qatar Public Security, Staff Major General Saad bin Jassim Al Khulaifi, and Inspector General of Nepal Police, Sarbendra Khanal.With the signing of the MoU neither Nepal nor Qatar will have to await their respective country's approval to extradite criminals after the Interpol issues notice, according to Subedi.
In addition, both the countries can opt to skip the 'lengthy process' of Interpol when required. It will also make police of both the countries to make more committed efforts to search and nab absconding criminals.
"For example, if a criminal is in a hideout in Qatar, we can choose to use either MoU or the Interpol's notice to nab the culprit. If the MoU is a quicker way, we can rely on it."
However, he clarified that the agreement would not supersede Interpol. Instead, it will supplement Interpol and help to deter crimes that are beyond its mandate. "We will continue to rely on Interpol's resources, skills and expertise in the region to deter transnational crimes."
