On 26/11 Mumbai attacks accused Tahawwur Hussain Rana’s extradition to India, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Thursday that, “Pakistan may try very hard, but its reputation as the epicentre of global terrorism will not diminish. The extradition of Rana is a reminder yet again to Pakistan that it needs to act to bring to justice other perpetrators of Mumbai terror attacks, whom it continues to shield.”
Rana, the 64-year-old Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman and a close associate of 26/11 attacks main conspirator David Coleman Headley, a US citizen, was brought to India on April 10th, after the US Supreme Court on April 4 dismissed his review plea against his extradition.
On November 26, 2008, a group of 10 Pakistani terrorists went on a rampage in Mumbai, carrying out coordinated attacks on a railway station, two luxury hotels and a Jewish centre, after they sneaked into India’s financial capital using the sea route through the Arabian Sea.
As many as 166 people were killed in the nearly 60-hour assault.
However, Pakistan has distanced itself from Rana, with their Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan 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.
