On Wednesday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced that Tahawwur Rana, a suspect in the 26/11 Mumbai attack, would shortly appear before an Indian court.
Amit Shah spoke in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday during the discussion of the Opposition’s motion of no confidence, highlighting the steps taken by the central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to combat terrorism and Naxalism.
“We conducted raids at more than 90 locations across the nation and outlawed PFI. Attacks against our missions in London, Ottawa, and San Francisco were the subject of cases that were turned over to the NIA (National Investigation Agency). Soon, 26/11 accused Tahawwur Hussain Rana will also stand trial in India,” Amit Shah told the Lok Sabha.
Tahawwur Rana was detained in the US as a result of an extradition request from India for his involvement in the Mumbai attacks, in which ten Pakistani terrorists besieged Mumbai for more than 60 hours, murdering more than 160 people, including six Americans, at important and well-known locations.
Authorities in India claim that Tahawwur Rana and David Coleman Headley, a childhood buddy, plotted to help the Pakistan-based terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) plan the 26/11 Mumbai attack.
In Pakistan, David Headley and Tahawwur Rana attended the same military training course.
Prosecutors believe that between 2006 and 2008, Tahawwur Rana’s immigration law centre in Chicago and a satellite office in Mumbai served as a cover for their terrorist activities.
The mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai attack, David Headley, had confessed his role in the incident and had given evidence against Tahawwur Rana.
Tahawwur Rana is attempting to avoid extradition by arguing that he was cleared of all charges related to the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks in a federal tribunal in Chicago. Rana claims he has already been cleared of the allegations he would have to answer to abroad.
Amit Shah also went on to claim that after Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power at the Centre, terrorism has been completely eradicated from Jammu and Kashmir.
“There used to be three hotspots in terms of internal security: Kashmir, the Naxal-infested region, and the Northeast. This situation persisted for years. In 2014, we altered our stance on Kashmir. Rajnath Singhji served as Home Minister from 2014 to 2019, and I took over as Home Minister after that. Terrorism in the area was eliminated by us,” Amit Shah said.
“Only 3 districts in Chhattisgarh are still battling the Maoist problem now,” he added.
Amit Shah took aim at the previous administration at the Centre, claiming that during the UPA administration’s tenure from 2004 to 2014, terrorists would just cross the border and execute our soldiers while no one took any action.
“We will talk to the youth of Kashmir valley, not Hurriyat, Jamiat and Pakistan,” the Union Home Minister said.
