| Tahawwur Rana to be grilled on Pakistan’s role in 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks: What does NIA want to know? with Anand Narasimhan n18oc_india
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar responded to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s comments on the extradition of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks mastermind Tahawwur Hussain Rana, calling the development “a big step” in giving justice to victims and their families.
Rana, a 64-year-old Pakistan-born Canadian national, had been in judicial custody in the US before the proceedings under the India-US Extradition Treaty began to send him to India.
“Appreciate the counter-terrorism cooperation between our two countries. This is indeed a big step in ensuring justice for the victims of 26/11 attacks,” Mr Jaishankar said in a post on X.
Earlier today, Mr Rubio acknowledged India’s determined efforts to seek justice for those who were killed in the 26/11 terror attacks.
“We extradited Tahawwur Hussain Rana to India to face charges for his role in planning the horrific 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks. Together, with India, we’ve long sought justice for the 166 people, including 6 Americans, who lost their lives in these attacks. I’m glad that day has come,” Mr Rubio said in a post on X.
Appreciate the counter-terrorism cooperation between our two countries. This is indeed a big step in ensuring justice for the victims of 26/11 attacks. @SecRubio https://t.co/7jRRbfleyo
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) April 11, 2025
The extradition came through after Rana exhausted all legal options against his extradition. Indian intelligence agencies worked closely with the US authorities to take the matter to its successful conclusion after years of sustained and concerted efforts to bring the key conspirator behind the 2008 terror attacks to justice.
Mr Rubio and Mr Jaishankar also spoke over phone on April 7, affirming the strength of the India-US strategic partnership and discussing opportunities to deepen collaboration in the Indo-Pacific region.
Soon after Rana’s landed in Delhi, US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said Washington extradited Rana to India “to face justice for his role in planning the horrific 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks.”
“The United States has long supported India’s efforts to ensure those responsible for these attacks are brought to justice, and as President Trump has said, the United States and India will continue to work together to combat the global scourge of terrorism,” the spokesperson told reporters on Friday.
The US Department of Justice also issued a statement, highlighting that Rana – a convicted terrorist – is charged in India with numerous offences.
The US said the 2008 Mumbai attacks “were among the most horrific and catastrophic in India’s history”.
Refusing to be drawn into the speculation surrounding K Annamalai’s removal as the Tamil Nadu president of the BJP, Union Home Minister and senior party leader Amit Shah has said Mr Annamalai still holds the post.
During a press conference on Friday announcing that the alliance between the AIADMK and the BJP was being renewed, Mr Shah was asked about reports of Mr Annamalai being removed because Edapaddi K Palaniswami did not want the tie-up to proceed until that happened. “This is not true at all. Mr Annamalai is the state president even today,” a smiling Mr Shah said, before pointing to the leader, who was seated to his left, and adding, “That is why he is sitting with me”.
AIADMK Chief Palaniswami, who was sitting to Mr Shah’s right, was smiling all along.
Pressed on the Annamalai issue again a few minutes later and asked whether he would be given a responsibility at the central level, the minister said, “Leave a few things to our party as well. Don’t worry about my party so much, we will run it well.”
Mr Shah’s comments came on a day that the BJP received only one nomination for the post of the party’s Tamil Nadu president – from Nainar Nagendran, who is the Tirunelveli MLA and the current vice-president – paving the way for him being elected unopposed. Mr Nagendran’s name was proposed by Mr Annamalai and three other senior leaders, including Mr Annamalai’s predecessor and Union Minister L Murugan, and ex-Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan.
Announcing this, Mr Shah wrote on X that Mr Annamalai’s contribution had been “unprecedented” and that the BJP would leverage his skills in the “party’s national framework”.
The Tamil Nadu BJP has received a nomination for the post of state president only from Shri @NainarBJP Ji.
As the President of the Tamil Nadu BJP unit, Shri @annamalai_k Ji has made commendable accomplishments. Whether it is carrying the policies of PM Shri @narendramodi Ji to…
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) April 11, 2025
“The Tamil Nadu BJP has received a nomination for the post of state president only from Shri @NainarBJP Ji. As the President of the Tamil Nadu BJP unit, Shri @annamalai_k Ji has made commendable accomplishments. Whether it is carrying the policies of PM Shri @narendramodi Ji to people or the programs of the party from village to village, Annamalai Ji’s contribution has been unprecedented. The BJP will leverage Annamalai Ji’s organisational skills in the party’s national framework,” he wrote.
Condition?
While the BJP hasn’t made significant electoral gains in Tamil Nadu since Mr Annamalai was appointed the chief of the state unit in 2021, the 40-year-old is credited with giving it much more visibility.
Sources had told NDTV that when Mr Palaniswami met Mr Shah in New Delhi last month, he had insisted on Mr Annamalai’s ouster as a condition for allying with the party again. The AIADMK felt the former IPS officer, engineer and MBA had tried to undermine its primacy in the state alliance and project the BJP and himself as the principal opposition in Tamil Nadu. The fact that he criticised several AIADMK leaders only added to the reasons that the party wanted him gone.