Paris, Sept. 9 (Reuters): The international police agency Interpol warned governments worldwide today of an increased risk of attacks on innocent people if the planned burning of the Quran by an obscure US clergyman went ahead.

“If the proposed Quran burning by a pastor in the US goes ahead as planned, there is a strong likelihood that violent attacks on innocent people would follow,” Interpol said in a statement, adding that it was acting partly on a request from Pakistan.

Pakistan’s interior minister Rehman Malik asked the agency to warn national police of an “increased terror threat” if the burning takes place on Saturday, the ninth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, it said.

“Given that we have been made aware of a significant threat to public safety — an assessment which we share — it is our duty to ensure that we pass this information on to law enforcement agencies around the globe,” said Interpol secretary general Ronald K. Noble.