Extradited terrorist of Pakistani origin Tahawwur Hussian Rana's antecedents were revealed in copious detail in a US court when he was tried by a federal jury in 2011. While the jury convicted him for his role in a plot against a Danish newspaper and supporting Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba’s (LeT) designs, it inexplicably acquitted Rana of conspiracy to provide material support to the November 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai that killed more than 160 people, including six Americans, and left over 238 others injured.
Federal prosecutors had produced loads of evidence, including emails and wiretaps, to establish how he and his childhood friend David Coleman Headley were part of the plot; that Headley had advised Rana of his assignment from the LeT to scout potential targets in India; that Headley obtained Rana’s consent to open an office of the latter's First World Immigration Services as a cover for his activities; that Rana advised Headley on how to obtain a visa for travel to India; and that Headley and Rana had reviewed how Headley had done surveillance of the targets that were attacked in Mumbai.
In a post-arrest statement in October 2009, Rana admitted knowing that LeT was a terror outfit and that Headley had attended its training camps in Pakistan, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said. Headley testified that he attended LeT training camps on five separate occasions between 2002 and 2005. In late 2005, Headley received instructions from LeT to travel to India for surveillance, which he did five times leading up to the Mumbai attacks three years later, the FBI revealed.
In an intercepted conversation with Headley, Rana allegedly commended the nine LeT terrorists who had been killed during the November 26-28 Mumbai attacks, saying “They should be given Nishan-e-Haider” -- Pakistan’s highest award for gallantry in battle, which is reserved for fallen soldiers. That evidence was also produced before the court, yet the jury strangely didn't find merit in the charges.
Blame it on the jury system in the US. He is now in India to face the full force of law and justice. If and when convicted, he could face the maximum sentence of death penalty. Pakistan promptly disowned him, saying Rana's Canadian citizenship for over two decades is well established.
He is now under the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) custody. If Ajmal Kasab was the first major catch -- the only attacker who was nabbed alive on the fateful day of November 26, 2008 -- getting hold of Rana is expected to unravel the larger conspiracy hatched in Pakistan, arguably the terror capital of the world. His extradition is a big deal, as all others named in the NIA's chargesheet as accused in the 26/11 carnage, are either in prison or having a nice time enjoying Pakistani hospitality and living in safe houses there under the protection of its army and the deep state.
Headley, a US citizen born Daood Gilani, changed his name in 2016 and mentioned only his American mother's name in his passport to conceal his Pakistani roots. For, his dad hails from Pakistan. He pleaded guilty in March 2010 to 12 federal terrorism charges, including aiding and abetting 26/11 and later planning to attack Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten for publishing Prophet Mohammed's cartoons in 2005. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison in the US.
Other non-state actors in the 26/11 plot like LeT founder Hafiz Saeed; attack mastermind Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi; ‘project manager’ Sajid Mir; plotter Abdur Rehman Pasha and Al Qaeda leader Illyas Kashmiri are roaming free in Pakistan without being made accountable for their crimes.
At least two Pakistan state actors figure in the NIA chargesheet -- Major Iqbal and Major Samir Ali. Iqbal is alleged to have directed and funded a long-drawn reconnaissance mission in Mumbai by Headley. Ali is known to have visited the Karachi control room of the 26/11 attacks.
Since Rana knew almost all the other accused, his interrogation is expected to help develop further leads to carry forward the investigations. He had travelled to India and Pakistan and met the co-accused as part of preparations to target not just vital installations in Mumbai but other parts of India as well.
Sources said Rana’s role is more significant than even Kasab's, who was executed in 2012. For, Kasab was not a planner like Rana and did not have an insight into the larger conspiracy and transnational links of the terror conspiracy.
The NIA chargesheet named Zakiur-Rehman Lakhvi as Headley's handler. Sajid Mir was tasked with coordinating, guiding and directing other co-conspirators. According to the NIA, Abdur Rehman Hashim alias Pasha along with Headley, Ilyas Kashmiri and Rana focused on the larger goal of planning future attacks in the country. Their finances came from ISI officials, including Major Iqbal.
All these required extensive espionage backup, which was provided by Major Sameer Ali, the chargesheet said. The NIA’s findings were supplemented by the FBI voluminous interrogation details of Rana.
Rana's antecedents
Rana was born on January 12, 1961, in Chichawatni, Punjab, Pakistan. He studied at the Cadet College Hasan Abdal in Attock district, where he and Headley became close friends. Rana later joined the Pakistan Army Medical Corps and served as a captain-general duty practitioner.
In 1997, he left the Pakistan army and moved to Canada with his wife, also a practising medical practitioner. The couple became naturalised Canadian citizens in 2001. He subsequently moved to Chicago and started several businesses, including First World Immigration Services, which had offices in Chicago, New York, Toronto and Mumbai. He also founded a ‘Halal slaughterhouse’ that processed goats, sheep and cows as per Islamic laws.
Rana owns a home in Ottawa, Canada, where his father and brother live. His father was a school principal near Lahore. One of his brothers is a psychiatrist in the Pakistan army, while another is a journalist for a Canadian newspaper.
According to the NIA chargesheet, Headley travelled to several Indian cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur, Pushkar, Goa and Pune under the guise of a representative of the company owned by Rana. The company’s office was at Mumbai’s Tardeo Road, which Rana helped Headley set up.
Rana, too, travelled to different places in India. Headley and Rana also made preparations for attacks in different places, including but not limited to the Chabad houses located in other states and the National Defence College, Delhi.
Detention
Headley was arrested by the FBI on October 3, 2009, at O’Hare airport in Chicago. Shortly thereafter, he revealed Rana's identity in a plea bargain, after which the latter was taken into custody. On October 27, 2009 FBI filed criminal complaints in the District Court of Northern District of Illinois against Headley and Rana.
While Headley was sentenced to 35 years in jail, Rana was ordered to serve 14 years, followed by five years of supervised release. However, he was freed in 2020 on compassionate grounds when the Covid epidemic struck.
Soon after, India sought his extradition. Rana contested it for almost five years before he ran out of all legal options. The Secretary of State then issued a warrant ordering Rana’s surrender to Indian authorities.
Tough cookie
A special court on April 11 remanded him in NIA custody for 18 days. A crack team of 12 sleuths led by NIA director general Sadanand Date has started interrogating him.
Sources in the NIA said, during the course of questioning, Rana would be shown crucial evidence linked to the terror attacks, including recorded voice samples, photos, videos, and emails, which were gathered during the investigation.
Rana will also be pressed for details about his relations and interactions with ‘project manager’ Sajid Mir, who was reportedly in India at the time of the terror attacks. But breaking him will not be easy as he refused to accept guilt in the US trial.
What about Headley
While India continues to push for his extradition, Assistant US Attorney John J Lulejian told a federal court in Los Angeles that unlike Rana, Headley had immediately accepted responsibility and pleaded guilty to all charges as part of his plea bargain.
“Because Headley fulfilled the required terms, the plea agreement established that Headley would not be extradited to India. Rana’s situation is different because he neither pleaded guilty nor cooperated with the United States,” he said.
In 2018, Headley was seriously injured in a prison attack.
About Rana
Born: January 12, 1961
Birth Place: Chichawatni, Pakistan
Qualification: Medicine from Cadet College Hasan Abdal
Military Service: Pakistan Army’s Medical Corps
In 1997, moved to Canada with his wife, also a medical practitioner. In 2001, both acquired Canadian citizenship
Business ventures
Established First World Immigration Services with offices in Chicago, Toronto, New York and Mumbai
Established Halal meat business in Chicago
Used his Mumbai office as a front for terror activities
Role in terror attacks
Provided a helping hand to Headley in reconnaissance of targets in Mumbai, including Taj, Trident hotels and Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus. He was also part of a foiled plot to attack Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten
Jail time in the US
US law enforcement agencies arrested Rana on October 2009 at the O’Hare Airport, Chicago and after trials convicted him in 2011 on charges of providing material support to LeT
For the Denmark terror plot, he was sentenced in 2013 for 14 years in jail. Released in 2020 on compassionate grounds in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak
Extradition to India
India renewed its request after Rana was released in 2020
A US court approved extradition in May 2023 President Trump approved extradition in February 2025
Rana filed emergency plea citing torture risks and health issues on February 27, 2025. But US Supreme Court threw them out on April 4, 2025, exhausting all legal options
