Canada moves to revoke Tahawwur Rana’s citizenship: Report
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Toronto: Ahead of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to India, the Canadian government is moving to revoke the citizenship of Pakistan-born businessman Tahawwur Rana, who is accused of playing a key role in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
Rana, 64, a Pakistan-born Canadian national, is a close associate of David Coleman Headley, also known as Daood Gilani, a US citizen and one of the main conspirators in the 26/11 attacks.
According to documents obtained by Global News, immigration authorities have formally notified Rana of their intention to strip him of the Canadian citizenship he acquired in 2001. He had immigrated to Canada in 1997 and was later convicted in the United States for plotting an attack on employees of a Danish newspaper.
Rana, described as the mastermind behind the 26/11 Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people, was extradited from the United States to India in April 2025. He was arrested by the National Investigation Agency immediately upon his arrival in New Delhi.
In its decision, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada stated that Rana’s citizenship revocation was not based on terrorism charges, but on allegations that he misrepresented facts in his citizenship application.
When applying for Canadian citizenship in 2000, Rana claimed he had lived in Ottawa and Toronto for the previous four years, with only a six-day absence from Canada. However, an investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police determined that he had spent most of that period in Chicago, where he owned several properties and operated businesses, including an immigration consultancy and a grocery store.
The revocation decision accused Rana of “serious and deliberate deception,” stating that his “lack of respect for the citizenship laws of Canada” led authorities to grant him citizenship under false pretences.
In a letter dated May 31, 2024, IRCC wrote to Rana: “Yours is a case in which it appears that you misrepresented your residence in Canada during the application process for citizenship by deliberately failing to declare your absences from Canada. Your misrepresentation led decision makers to believe that you had met the residence requirements for citizenship, when it appears you had not.”
The Canadian government has referred the matter to the Federal Court, which will make the final determination on whether his citizenship was obtained through “false representation or fraud or by knowingly concealing material circumstances.”
A Toronto-based immigration lawyer representing Rana has appealed the decision, arguing that it is unfair and violates his rights. A hearing related to the revocation was held in Federal Court last week.
Government lawyers also requested permission on December 19 to withhold sensitive national security information from the proceedings.
An immigration department spokesperson, Mary Rose Sabater, told Global News that revoking citizenship for misrepresentation is “an important tool for maintaining the integrity of Canadian citizenship.” She emphasised that the Federal Court ensures fairness in such cases and added that “the Government does not take the revocation of citizenship lightly.”
Sabater said the department does not track the total number of revocations. However, a review by Global News found only three such decisions over the past decade.
With PTI inputs