Canada Seeks to Revoke Citizenship of Man Accused in 2008 Mumbai Attacks
- Ottawa is pursuing the revocation of Canadian citizenship for Tahawwur Rana Hussain, a Pakistan-born businessman accused of playing a significant role in the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks that...
- Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has notified Hussain, 65, of its intent to strip him of the citizenship he acquired in 2001.
- According to the IRCC, Hussain claimed to have lived in Ottawa and Toronto for four years prior to his citizenship application, with only a six-day absence from the...
Ottawa is pursuing the revocation of Canadian citizenship for Tahawwur Rana Hussain, a Pakistan-born businessman accused of playing a significant role in the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks that claimed the lives of 166 people. The move, revealed in documents obtained by Global News, centers not on allegations of terrorism, but on claims that Hussain misrepresented his residency when applying for citizenship in 2000.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has notified Hussain, 65, of its intent to strip him of the citizenship he acquired in 2001. Hussain immigrated to Canada in 1997. He was later convicted in the United States of plotting attacks against the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, which had published cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad. He is currently in custody in India, awaiting trial on charges related to facilitating the Mumbai attacks carried out by the Pakistani terror group Lashkar-e-Tayyiba.
According to the IRCC, Hussain claimed to have lived in Ottawa and Toronto for four years prior to his citizenship application, with only a six-day absence from the country. However, an investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) determined that Hussain spent almost the entire period in Chicago, where he owned properties and businesses, including an immigration firm and a grocery store.
The revocation decision accuses Hussain of “a serious and deliberate deception,” stating that his “lack of respect for the citizenship laws of Canada” led immigration officials to wrongly grant him citizenship. In a May 31, 2024, letter to Hussain, the IRCC wrote, “Yours is a case in which you misrepresented your residence in Canada during the application process for citizenship by deliberately failing to declare your absences from Canada.” The letter further stated that his misrepresentation led decision-makers to believe he had met the residency requirements for citizenship when, in fact, he had not.
The government is now referring the case to the Federal Court, which has the final say on whether citizenship was obtained through “false representation or fraud or by knowingly concealing material circumstances.” Hussain, through his Toronto-based immigration lawyer, has appealed the decision, arguing it is unfair and violates his rights. A hearing was held in Federal Court last week, during which government lawyers requested permission to withhold sensitive national security information from the case.
An IRCC spokesperson told Global News that cancelling citizenship for misrepresentation is “an important tool for maintaining the integrity of Canadian citizenship.” The spokesperson, Mary Rose Sabater, noted that the Federal Court makes the final decision in such cases, and that the government “does not take the revocation of citizenship lightly.” The department does not track the number of such revocations, but a review by Global News identified only three such decisions in the past decade.
‘A Canadian is a Canadian’
The case highlights a complex and politically charged issue in Canadian immigration policy. Revoking the citizenship of convicted terrorists became a focal point during the tenure of former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, whose government enacted legislation allowing Ottawa to do so, provided the individual held a second citizenship.
During the 2015 federal election, the Liberal Party, led by then-candidate Justin Trudeau, criticized the legislation as creating a two-tiered citizenship system and promised to repeal it, using the slogan “a Canadian is a Canadian.” Upon winning the election, the Liberal government did repeal the law and reinstated citizenship to more than a dozen convicted terrorists who had previously been stripped of their Canadian nationality.
However, under the Liberal government, efforts to revoke citizenship have continued, but solely on the grounds of misrepresentation. In 2024, then-Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced he was reviewing the citizenship of Ahmed Eldidi, who was arrested for allegedly planning an ISIS-inspired terrorist attack in Toronto, following reports that Eldidi had appeared in an ISIS execution video.
The documents pertaining to Hussain’s case reveal that the Trudeau government re-initiated revocation proceedings that had originally begun under the Harper Conservatives in 2023. The IRCC emphasized that the basis for the revocation is solely the allegation that Hussain misrepresented his residency in Canada during the application process.
Hussain maintains that he believed he met the residency requirements and did not knowingly conceal any material circumstances. In a letter, he stated, “In short, I always thought that I am maintaining my Primary Residence in Canada… In my Canadian citizenship application I did not knowingly conceal material circumstances or committed [sic] fraud.”
Should the Federal Court approve the revocation, Hussain would retain his status as a permanent resident, allowing him to remain in Canada and reapply for citizenship after ten years. However, his immediate future is tied to the ongoing trial in India, where he faces charges related to the 2008 Mumbai attacks, a tragedy that deeply impacted India and strained relations with Pakistan.
The three-day siege in Mumbai, targeting the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, a Jewish community center, and other locations, remains one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in modern history. Two Canadians were among those killed. Hussain allegedly stated in intercepted communications that the victims “deserved it” and that the terrorists should receive medals for “gallantry in battle.”
India’s portrayal of Canada as a national security threat has been fueled by Hussain’s Canadian citizenship, despite evidence suggesting he did not genuinely reside in the country. The attempt to revoke his citizenship is unfolding as Prime Minister Mark Carney seeks to restore relations with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with a potential trade deal on the horizon.
However, the relationship is complicated by allegations that Modi’s government was involved in the murder of a Sikh activist in Surrey, British Columbia, in 2023, and plotted to kill other Canadian opponents. Canada also believes India has cooperated with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, which is linked to a recent surge in extortion targeting individuals within Canada’s South Asian communities.
Who is Tahawwur Rana Hussain?
Hussain served in the Pakistani military before immigrating to Canada on , arriving at Windsor’s Ambassador Bridge with his wife and three children. He applied for Canadian citizenship three years later, claiming continuous residency since his arrival and was approved on .
Questions arose following his arrest in Chicago in 2009 on charges related to the Mumbai attacks and a plot to attack the Jyllands-Posten newspaper. Canadian immigration officials requested information from U.S. Authorities, and an RCMP investigation subsequently revealed that Hussain had spent the majority of the relevant period in Chicago, owning businesses including an immigration firm and a grocery store.
Hussain was convicted by a U.S. Jury of planning attacks in Copenhagen and providing material support to Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, but acquitted of direct involvement in the Mumbai attacks. Chris Alexander, then Canada’s Minister of Immigration, signed the paperwork recommending the revocation of his citizenship for misrepresentation.
India formally requested Hussain’s extradition in , and Canadian immigration resumed efforts to revoke his citizenship. On , the U.S. Announced Hussain’s extradition to India to face ten charges related to the Mumbai attacks. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described Hussain as a “Canadian citizen and native of Pakistan” and expressed relief that the extradition had occurred, noting that six Americans were among the victims of the Mumbai attacks.
India accuses Hussain of providing a false cover story to his childhood friend, David Coleman Headley (formerly Daood Gilani), allowing Headley to travel to Mumbai to scout targets for Lashkar-e-Tayyiba. Using the pretense of opening a branch of his immigration business, Hussain allegedly helped Headley obtain an Indian visa. The U.S. Justice Department stated that Headley repeatedly met with Hussain in Chicago and described his surveillance activities and Lashkar-e-Tayyiba’s potential plans for attacking Mumbai.
Hussain’s arrival in India has been widely reported, with the National Investigation Agency (NIA) identifying him as a “mastermind” of the Mumbai attack and a “Canadian national.”