Tahawwur Rana and the Truth Behind the 26/11 Conspiracy
Initially, the U.S. government denied Indian investigators access to Headley.
The extradition of Pakistani-origin Canadian citizen Tahawwur Rehman Rana from the United States to India — and subsequently bringing him to Delhi after overcoming numerous legal hurdles — marks a significant achievement for Indian law enforcement and judicial agencies. On Friday, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) secured an 18-day remand from a special court in Delhi. It is hoped that his interrogation will prove instrumental in uncovering the full extent of the 26/11 Mumbai terror conspiracy and revealing the Pakistani government's involvement — or lack thereof — in one of the deadliest terror attacks on Indian soil.
It is worth recalling that on November 26, 2008, ten Pakistani terrorists carried out indiscriminate firing at around a dozen crowded locations across Mumbai, plunging the city into chaos for 72 hours. The attack claimed 166 lives and injured 268 others. The terrorists had set sail from Karachi on November 23, hijacked an Indian fishing trawler en route — killing four Indian fishermen — and reached Mumbai using the same vessel.
In the retaliatory operation led by the Mumbai Police and NSG commandos, nine of the ten attackers were killed. The lone surviving terrorist, Ajmal Kasab, was captured alive in an injured state. Based on information provided by him, the terror outfit responsible — Lashkar-e-Taiba — and its top leadership were identified. Despite overwhelming evidence, the Pakistani government has consistently denied involvement, attributing the attack to non-state actors.
The role of Tahawwur Rana and Pakistani-American David Headley in the planning of the 26/11 attack came to light after Headley was arrested in Chicago on October 18 — not in connection with Mumbai, but for plotting an attack on a Danish newspaper. During the investigation, it emerged that both men were linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba and had conducted surveillance of crowded sites in Mumbai as part of the 26/11 conspiracy. Notably, Headley, a U.S. citizen, was also revealed to be a double agent working with the American intelligence agency CIA.
Initially, the U.S. government denied Indian investigators access to Headley. However, under sustained pressure from the Indian government, they eventually allowed the NIA to question him in prison. Rana, however, enjoyed no such protection. The NIA successfully built a case against him, leaving no legal loopholes. Still, the agency had to fight a protracted legal battle in U.S. courts for over 13 years to secure his extradition. The case even reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which heard Rana’s petitions twice and upheld the extradition orders on both occasions.
Before emigrating to Canada, Tahawwur Rana served in the Pakistani Army for five years, holding the rank of Captain and serving as a doctor in the Army Medical Corps (AMCP). During the extradition process, he expressed fears before the U.S. Supreme Court that he might be hanged in India, despite not having participated in any of the shootings directly. However, the arguments presented by Indian government-appointed legal experts effectively countered these claims. Now that Rana is on Indian soil, it presents a crucial opportunity for Indian agencies to delve deeper into the web of Pakistani-sponsored terrorism.
In the immediate aftermath of the 26/11 attacks, Pakistan had assured India of full cooperation — only to later renege on its commitments. Now, with Rana in custody, the NIA has a valuable chance to expose the truth about Pakistan’s backing of terrorist figures like Hafiz Saeed, Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, and other Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives. This opportunity must be fully leveraged to present undeniable evidence to the international community regarding Pakistan’s complicity in terrorism.