Canada will cancel Tahawwur Rana’s citizenship, a big step by PM Mark Carney government before his visit to India.
Toronto. Ahead of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to India, the Canadian government is moving forward with the process of revoking the citizenship of Pakistan-origin businessman Tahawwur Rana Hussain, accused of playing a key role in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. Rana (64) is a Pakistan-born Canadian citizen and a close associate of David Coleman Headley alias Dawood Geelani, one of the key conspirators of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. Headley is an American citizen.
According to documents obtained by Global News, immigration officials have informed Rana that they are considering stripping him of his Canadian citizenship, which he obtained in 2001. Rana came to Canada in 1997 and was later convicted in the US of plotting an attack on the staff of a Danish newspaper. Rana, the alleged mastermind of the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai, was extradited from the US to India in April 2025.
As soon as he reached New Delhi, he was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). 166 people died in the Mumbai attacks. According to the report, ‘Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)’ said in its decision that Rana’s citizenship is being canceled not on charges of terrorism, but because of giving false information in the application form.
When applying for citizenship in 2000, Rana claimed that he had been living in Ottawa and Toronto for the past four years and had been out of the country for only six days. However, an investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) found that he lived almost all the time in Chicago, where he owned several businesses and properties. He has been accused of “serious and deliberate fraud” in the decision to revoke his citizenship.
According to the news, the government said that the matter has been referred to the Federal Court, which will take the final decision. Rana’s lawyer has challenged this decision. Rosie Sabater, a spokeswoman for the Department of Immigration, told Global News that revoking citizenship obtained by giving false information is “an important means of maintaining the sanctity of Canadian citizenship.” She said that to ensure the fairness of the process, the final decision in such cases is made by the federal court. He said, “The government does not take the step of revoking citizenship lightly.
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