On February 14, 2025, US President Donald Trump US President announced the extradition of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack accused Tahawwur Rana to India and said he will face justice. The announcement came during Indian PM Narendra Modi’s visit to the United States.
It is pertinent to recall that in August 2024, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit stated that Tahawwur Rana is “extraditable to India” under the extradition treaty between India and the US. The panel upheld the district court’s denial of Tahawwur Hussain Rana’s habeas corpus petition, which challenged a magistrate judge’s certification of Rana as extraditable to India for his suspected role in terrorist attacks in Mumbai.
After a panel of the US Court of Appeals cleared the way to extradite the Mumbai terror attack convict Tahawwur Rana to India, the US Supreme Court approved Rana’s extradition to India.
However, now, the terrorist Tahawwur Rana has made a last ditch attempt to save himself by playing the religion card. As per an India Today report, Tahawwur Rana has approached the US Supreme Court seeking an emergency stay of his extradition to India, stating in his application that he will be tortured in India because he is a Muslim from Pakistan.
63-year-old Tahawwur Rana is known to be associated with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist David Headley, one of the main conspirators of the Mumbai attacks. He is currently lodged in a Los Angeles Jail.
In his petition, Tahawwur Rana submitted that he is suffering from multiple ailments, including an advanced cardiac aneurysm, Parkinson’s with cognitive decline, and possible bladder cancer.
Notably, Rana fought his extradition to India at all levels, but after US President Donald Trump’s public announcement, his options are very limited so he has brought out the religion card to try and avoid facing justice in India for his role in the deadly 26/11 terror attack.
