US court approves extradition of 26/11 accused Rana to India
New Delhi, May 18
Almost 15 years after armed terrorists from Pakistan attacked Mumbai, a US court has approved the extradition of Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman Tahawwur Hussain Rana to India for his alleged involvement in the 26/11 attack.
The ruling comes just over a month before Prime Minister Narendra Modi travels to the US on his first state visit at the invitation of President Joe Biden. He will be hosted by President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden for a state dinner at the White House on June 22.
A judge in US District Court Central District of California has ruled that extradition of Rana to India was under the jurisdiction of a treaty signed between the two countries in 1997.
A 48-page order on Rana was posted online on May 17. Rana has the option of appealing against it.
Rana, along with David Coleman Headley, alias Daood Sayed Gilani, another Pakistani-origin US-based terrorist, is convicted of planning and scouting the locations for the attacks carried out on November 26, 2008. Gilani is lodged for 35 years in a federal prison in Chicago, US.
US Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Chooljian of the District Court of the Central District of California, in her order, said: “The court has reviewed and considered all of the documents submitted in support of and in opposition to the request (of extradition), and has considered the arguments presented at the hearing.
“Based on such review and consideration and for the reasons discussed herein, the court makes the findings set forth below, and certifies to the Secretary of State of the United States the extraditability of Rana on the charged offences,” the judge wrote.
The order noted that Rana be committed to the custody of the United States Marshal pending a final decision on extradition and his surrender by the Secretary of State to India for trial of the offences as to which extradition has been granted.
Rana, a former doctor with the Pakistan military, had moved to Canada decades ago and was granted citizenship. He then went on to open a travel and visa facilitation agency in Chicago.
India had filed a complaint on June 10, 2020 seeking the provisional arrest of Rana with a view towards extradition. The Biden administration had supported and approved the extradition of Rana to India.
Delhi had Sought arrest in 2020
India had filed a complaint on June 10, 2020 seeking the provisional arrest of Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman Tahawwur Hussain Rana with a view towards extradition. The Biden administration had supported and approved the extradition of Rana to India.
