Ottawa: A Pakistan-born man implicated in Al-Qaeda's weapons of mass destruction programme was granted a Canadian visa, and then was arrested upon his arrival at Canada's largest airport.

Public broadcaster CBC, citing a secret document sent by border authorities to Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day last July, said the man had obtained a visa from Canada s high commissioner in London to live temporarily in Canada.

But he was arrested by border guards at Toronto's international airport after arriving on a flight from Newcastle, England. While verifying his passport, they determined he had been flagged as a threat to national security.

He was arrested on July 12,2007,interrogated and then was deported to the United Kingdom the next day.

According to the CBC, he had renounced the Canadian visa and requested to be returned to the United Kingdom immediately after his arrival, but the pilot refused to allow him onto his plane.

A spokesman for Day was not immediately available for comment.

Source : PTI