The Canadian government is seeking to strip the citizenship of Pakistan-born businessman Tahawwur Hussain Rana, alleging he obtained it through deception, as he awaits trial in India over the deadly 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks.
Former Toronto MP Kevin Vuong said the move signalled that “for foreign nationals, citizenship is a privilege, not a right”, crediting the Carney government for taking action.
Documents obtained by Global News show officials from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) notified Rana in May 2024 of their intention to revoke the Canadian citizenship he acquired in 2001.
The department alleges he misrepresented his residency history when applying.
As per reports, Rana, 65, immigrated to Canada in 1997. When he applied for citizenship in 2000, he claimed to have lived in Ottawa and Toronto for four years with only a brief absence. However, a subsequent investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police found he had spent most of that period in Chicago, where he operated businesses including an immigration consultancy.
In a letter to Rana, IRCC accused him of “serious and deliberate deception”, stating his alleged misrepresentation led officials to believe he met residency requirements when he did not. The matter has been referred to the Federal Court, which will determine whether his citizenship was obtained by fraud.
It is further reported that a Toronto-based immigration lawyer acting for Rana has appealed the revocation, arguing the decision is unfair and infringes his rights. Government lawyers have also sought permission to withhold sensitive national security information from the court proceedings.
A departmental spokesperson said revocation for misrepresentation was “an important tool for maintaining the integrity of Canadian citizenship” and stressed that such decisions are not taken lightly.
Rana is currently in Indian custody after being extradited from the United States in 2025. On April 9, US authorities transferred him to India to face trial over allegations he helped facilitate the 2008 attacks in Mumbai carried out by Lashkar-e-Tayyiba.
The coordinated three-day assault in November 2008 left 166 people dead, including six Americans, after gunmen targeted hotels, a train station and a Jewish community centre.
Rana has previously faced terrorism-related charges in the United States. In 2011, he was convicted in a federal court in Illinois of conspiring to provide material support to Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and to a separate plot targeting the Danish newspaper Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten, which had published cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed. He was acquitted of directly supporting the Mumbai attacks in that trial.
US prosecutors alleged Rana provided cover and assistance to his childhood friend David Coleman Headley, who pleaded guilty to terrorism offences, including aiding the murders of six Americans in Mumbai.
In 2013, Rana was sentenced to 14 years in prison in the United States. After years of legal challenges, US courts cleared the way for his extradition to India, where he now faces charges including conspiracy, murder and commission of a terrorist act.
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