Sixteen years after the horrific 26/11 Mumbai attacks, Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a Pakistan-born Canadian citizen and a key accused in the deadly 2008 siege, has been extradited to India from the United States.
The 64-year-old former Pakistani army medic landed under heavy guard at a military airbase near New Delhi late Thursday evening and was later presented before the Patiala House Court, which remanded him to 18-day custody under the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Rana, who once ran businesses in Chicago, is accused by Indian authorities of aiding the Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in planning the 2008 Mumbai attacks that left 166 people dead and hundreds injured across major landmarks including the Taj Hotel, CST railway station, and a Jewish centre.
According to the NIA, Rana “conspired with David Coleman Headley and operatives of designated [Pakistan-based] terrorist organisations LeT and Harkat-ul-Jihadi Islami” to plan the coordinated assaults. Headley, a US national and Rana’s long-time associate, had earlier pleaded guilty in a US court to his role in the attacks and is serving a 35-year prison sentence.
Rana’s extradition follows years of diplomatic negotiations and legal proceedings. The breakthrough came after the US Supreme Court rejected his final appeal against extradition earlier this month.
US President Donald Trump had previously labelled Rana “one of the very evil people in the world” and committed to supporting India’s pursuit of justice.
India had charged Rana in absentia in 2011 for providing material support to LeT, including helping Headley procure a visa under a false identity. Though acquitted in the US of direct involvement in the Mumbai plot, Rana was convicted in 2013 for aiding another LeT-linked plan to attack a Danish newspaper.
Responding to the extradition, the US State Department reaffirmed its support for India. Spokesperson Tammy Bruce said:
“The United States has long supported India’s efforts to ensure those responsible for these attacks are brought to justice… We are very proud of that dynamic.”
Pakistan, meanwhile, sought to distance itself from Rana, with its foreign ministry stating that he had not renewed his Pakistani citizenship after leaving the country.
Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, welcomed the development, saying,
“Finally, the long wait is over and justice will be done.”
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