Flight carrying 26/11 Mumbai terror attack plotter Tahawwur Rana lands at IGI Airport
26/11 Mumbai terror attacks accused Tahawwur Rana has been charged with criminal conspiracy, waging war against India, murder, and forgery.
New Delhi:
Pakistan has distanced itself from Tahawwur Hussain Rana, the Pakistani-Canadian terrorist wanted by India for his role in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, in which 166 people were slaughtered.
Rana was extradited from the US; his extradition flight landed in Delhi late Thursday.
Reports from Pakistan quoted Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan as saying Rana made no attempt to renew lapsed citizenship after moving to Canada – i.e., Pakistan does not allow dual citizenship for migrants to Canada – and that it is now “very clear” he is a Canadian national.
“Tahawwur Rana has not renewed his Pakistani documents for over two decades. His Canadian nationality is very clear,” Mr Khan said in Islamabad.
Who Is Tahawwur Rana
Rana – known to have links to Pakistan’s Army and its Inter-Services Intelligence, as also banned terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which carried out the attack – was extradited from the US late Wednesday.
India has repeatedly said the 26/11 attacks were carried out with support from Pak-based actors.
When Rana Lands In India…
The 64-year-old will be arrested by India’s anti-terror agency, the NIA immediately after setting foot on Indian soil and be transferred to a high security cell in Delhi’s Tihar Jail.
He will then be presented in a Delhi court, in accordance with the law, and then is expected to be moved to Mumbai, where he will be interrogated by high-ranking officers and face trial.
NIA Secures Successful Extradition of 26/11 Mumbai Terror Attack Mastermind Tahawwur Rana from US pic.twitter.com/sFaiztiodl
— NIA India (@NIA_India) April 10, 2025
Charges Against Rana
Rana has been charged with criminal conspiracy, waging war against India, murder, and forgery, as well as many others. Intelligence agencies believe Rana played a key role in helping another terrorist, Pakistani-American David Coleman Headley, plan the Mumbai terror attacks.
Headley, now in jail in the US, said Rana extended logistical and financial support.
Rana’s Extradition
Rana’s extradition from the US marked a significant step forward in India’s hunt for justice after the Mumbai attacks, and has been credited to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s diplomatic efforts. The Congress, though, pointed out the process to bring Rana back began on its watch, in 2009.
“This extradition is the culmination of a decade-and-a-half of painstaking diplomatic, legal, and intelligence efforts which were initiated, led, and sustained by the (Congress-led) UPA government, in coordination with the US,” P Chidambaram, then the Union Home Minister, said.
Rana had been arrested by the US’ FBI in October 2009 on charges of providing support to an aborted plan to attack a newspaper in Copenhagen and supporting Pak-based terror group Lashkar, which was responsible for the Mumbai attacks. Two years later, he was convicted.
He then unsuccessfully appealed to American courts to challenge his extradition to India.
The three-day attack that devastated Mumbai targeted hotels, a train station, and a Jewish institution. Of the 10 terrorists, only one – Ajmal Kasab – was caught alive.
Elaborating on the timeline of his extradition, the NIA spokesperson said that the Central District of California District Court approved his extradition on May 16, 2023. Despite filing several appeals in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Rana’s legal challenges were all dismissed. He then escalated his case to the U.S. Supreme Court through a writ of certiorari, two habeas corpus petitions, and an emergency application, but these efforts were also rejected. The extradition process between India and the United States began after Indian authorities successfully obtained a surrender warrant for the wanted terrorist from American officials.
“With the active assistance of US DoJ (Department of Justice), the US Sky Marshal, NIA worked closely with other Indian intelligence agencies, NSG through the entire extradition process, which also saw India’s Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Home Affairs coordinating with the other relevant authorities in the United States to take the matter to its successful conclusion,” the spokesperson added.
On Wednesday Union Home Minister Amit Shah had called the extradition of Rana a big success of the Modi government. “Rana’s extradition is a big success of Prime Minister Modi’s diplomacy. The Modi government’s effort is to bring to justice those who attack India’s honour, land and people. He will be brought here to face trial and punishment. It is a big success of the Modi government,” Shah said while speaking at the News18 Rising Bharat Summit.
However, the Congress on Thursday accused the Narendra Modi government of falsely taking credit for 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks accused Tahawwur Rana’s extradition, saying it was a “culmination of a decade-and-a-half of painstaking diplomatic, legal and intelligence efforts which were initiated, led, and sustained by the UPA government”.
