Canada moves to revoke Tahawwur Rana’s citizenship ahead of Mark Carney’s India visit

The Canadian government has moved to revoke the citizenship of Pakistan-born businessman Tahawwur Hussain Rana, accused of playing a key role in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. The move comes ahead of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s planned visit to India. According to documents accessed by Global News, immigration officials have formally notified Rana, who acquired Canadian citizenship in 2001, of their intent to strip him of it. Authorities say the action is based not on terrorism charges but on alleged misrepresentation in his citizenship application. Rana, accused of being a mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people, was extradited from the United States to India in April 2025 and arrested by the National Investigation Agency upon arrival in New Delhi. He had earlier immigrated to Canada in 1997 and was later convicted in the US for plotting an attack on staff at a Danish newspaper. In its decision, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said Rana’s citizenship was being revoked because he allegedly lied about his residence history. When applying in 2000, Rana claimed he had lived in Ottawa and Toronto for four years with only a six-day absence. However, an investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police found he had spent most of that period in Chicago, where he owned multiple properties and businesses, including an immigration firm and a grocery store. The revocation notice described the case as involving “serious and deliberate deception,” stating that his actions led officials to wrongly grant citizenship. The matter has been referred to the Federal Court, which will determine whether his citizenship was obtained through fraud or false representation. Rana’s Toronto-based immigration lawyer has appealed the move, arguing it is unfair and violates his rights. A related hearing was held in Federal Court last week, where government lawyers sought permission to withhold sensitive national security information. An IRCC spokesperson told Global News that citizenship revocation for misrepresentation remains “an important tool” to protect the integrity of Canadian citizenship, adding that the government does not take such decisions lightly. The department said it does not maintain consolidated data on revocations, but Global News identified only three such cases in the past decade.