Toronto, Jul 24 (IANS): A Pakistani man was arrested in Canada Saturday for war crimes and terror links.

Arshad Muhammad, who was arrested from the Toronto suburb of Mississauga, has reportedly been linked to a Pakistan-based Islamist organisation.

The 42-year-old man, who has been evading arrest for years, was nabbed after police spotted him in a convenience store in Mississauga which is home to a huge population of Indians and Pakistanis.

Canadian Immigration Minister Jason Kenney was quoted as saying that Muhammad was linked to an Islamist organization in Pakistan that was involved in terrorist attacks. However, the minister didn't name of the Pakistani organization to which Muhammad is allegedly linked.

It is not known when the Pakistani man entered Canada, but reports said his last known address was Montreal where he once lived under the name of Certosa Aranci. Canadian agencies lost track of him once he was declared inadmissible into Canada and faced deportation.

The arrest of the Pakistani national follows Canada's crackdown on 30 suspected war criminals ordered this week.
In an unprecedented campaign to throw out criminals and those who obtained Canadian citizenship illegally, the new government has announced the names of 30 war criminals it is tracking for deportation. Muhammad is one of them.

Since all war criminals are missing inside Canada, the government has asked people to help nab them.

"We asked the public for assistance in apprehending these individuals and the response has been overwhelmingly positive,'' says the immigration minister.

This Friday, Canada deported a Chinese fuigtive who the mastermind of a $10-billion smuggling ring in China to Beijing.
Canada is also stripping 1,800 people of Canadian citizenship - the first western government to take such a large-scale action.