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The imminent extradition of Tahawwur Hussain Rana to India is being seen as a potential game-changer in unraveling the deeper conspiracy behind the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. Indian investigation agencies believe that Rana’s interrogation could expose the involvement of Pakistan’s state actors including officials of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in planning and executing the 2008 attacks that killed 166 people, including foreign nationals.
Rana, a Pakistan-origin Canadian national, is a close associate of David Coleman Headley one of the main conspirators of the Mumbai attacks and a key Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative. Rana is accused of aiding Headley in conducting surveillance and logistical groundwork for the attacks. Headley had earlier confessed to his role and revealed that ISI officials were complicit in the planning.
Extradition Clears Legal Hurdles in the US
After a prolonged legal battle, the US Supreme Court rejected Rana’s final appeal on April 7, clearing the way for his extradition. A multi-agency team from India is currently in the United States to complete the necessary legal and administrative procedures to bring him back.
Sources indicate that once in India, Rana will be taken into National Investigation Agency (NIA) custody, where his interrogation is expected to provide fresh leads linking Pakistani military and intelligence officers to the 26/11 plot.
Key Visits Before 26/11 Under Scanner
Indian security officials have tracked Rana’s movements across cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Agra, Kochi, Ahmedabad, and Hapur in the days leading up to the attacks. Investigators believe that the purpose of these visits was to assist Headley in identifying and scouting locations that were later attacked by terrorists sent by Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives.
The FBI had arrested Rana in 2009, a year after the Mumbai carnage, for providing material support to terror activities in India and Denmark. Despite initial resistance to his extradition, US authorities have now fully backed India’s demand to prosecute him.
ISI’s Role May Finally Be Proven
The NIA chargesheet against Rana lists him as a “co-conspirator” who provided financial and logistical support to Headley. Officials say his testimony could reinforce existing evidence about the role of Pakistani officers, including ISI operatives like Major Iqbal and Major Sameer Ali, and terror masterminds Hafiz Saeed and Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi.
“By extraditing Tahawwur Rana, India will get more information and evidence of the involvement of some of the Pakistani people, including the Pakistan security apparatus. David Headley has given such revelation and evidence in Mumbai court and also produced the email correspondence showing the links between Lashkar-e-Taiba and Pakistan ISI Army officers. I am very optimistic that the extradition of Tahawwur Rana will give more evidence about the involvement of some of the security apparatus of Pakistan.” told Advocate Ujjwal Nikam.
A Step Closer to Justice
India has consistently maintained that the 26/11 attacks were not just the handiwork of non-state actors, but had full logistical and operational support from Pakistani intelligence and military agencies. Rana’s extradition, long delayed by legal technicalities, now brings Indian agencies closer to validating this claim before international forums.
ALSO READ: How Tahawwur Rana Was Arrested: A Testimony That Exposed a Key 26/11 Conspirator
