Recent arrests show Pakistan's stepped up co-operation with international law enforcement

ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan's growing co-operation with international security agencies has been highlighted a few recent high-profile arrests.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on July 7 arrested a suspect wanted by Interpol in connection with a worldwide child pornography network.

"The FIA received a request of assistance from Interpol Washington, regarding the diffusion of child pornography material," it said in a statement.

On the basis of Interpol's information, an FIA team raided the Gulshan-e-Iqbal area and arrested a man named Faraz Khan, the agency said.

In a separate raid on July 8, the FIA arrested another suspect, named Waqar, in Hyderabad for his involvement in running a child pornography ring linked to the global network, and arrested two people from the districts of Gujranwala and Faisalabad for their alleged involvement in creating child pornography.

The crackdown, named Operation Luna Park, took place simultaneously in 46 countries on the basis of information collected from arrested child pornographers in Milan, Italy, said a senior FIA official in Karachi on the condition of anonymity.

"This is the first joint successful operation in which members of global pornographic websites were arrested with the active support of Interpol and European and international law enforcement agencies," he said.

Rana Asif Habib, a children's rights activist in Karachi, praised the FIA's crackdown and said that without the collaboration of international law enforcement bodies, it is difficult to stop the online child exploitation.

"Pakistani authorities should become part of the international child pornography monitoring and oversight system, which will help in curbing networks" that make such materials, Habib said.

FBI most-wanted

On June 28, the FIA arrested two Pakistani-Americans who had been on the run from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). They were sought for carrying out a bank robbery in New York State in 2016.

Waqar Ghumman and Mohsin Zamir were arrested in Lahore and had been on the FBI's most-wanted list with a combined $30,000 (Rs. 5 million) reward for information leading to their capture, according to the FBI's website.

Pakistan is holding them pending the completion of extradition formalities.

The getaway driver was arrested soon after the robbery in New York and is serving a seven-year prison sentence.

Ghumman and Zamir eluded capture and escaped to Pakistan.

One of the men was arrested while "skimming" an automated teller machine in Lahore, said Abdu Rab, a senior FIA official in Lahore.

"Both criminals managed to flee the United States after the FBI issued their arrest warrants one and a half years ago and went underground in Pakistan," Rab said.