My husband not a terrorist: Rana’s wife
June 9th, 2011 - 5:41 pm ICT by IANSToronto, June 9 (IANS) The wife of Pakistan-Canadian Tahawwur Rana, the accused in the Mumbai terror attack of 2008, said Wednesday that her husband is “not a terrorist” and he “loves Indian people” as a 12-member jury in Chicago began deliberating his fate.
Since David Headley has admitted that he used Rana’s immigration business as a cover for scouting Mumbai targets, she said it’s nothing but “a convenient spin” to allow a deal with Headley.
“My mother was Indian and my husband loves Indian people and helped a lot of them come to Canada and the United States. It doesn’t make sense to have all of this stuff going on in office e-mails that anybody can access and to have my husband announcing in the paper he is coming to open a business, or to have me travel with him to Mumbai at the time. It’s all unfair,” she told the Sun TV network.
She said Headley “turned on us to save himself from a lot of trouble. My husband is not a terrorist and David Headley knows he isn’t … I have been married to him for 21 years and I know he isn’t.”
Samraz said if her husband is not found guilty, he will return to Toronto.
“He definitely wants to come home. Even though we have a home in Chicago, it was more for the business side of things. I never took citizenship here (in the US). We love Chicago, too, but Toronto is our home,” Samraz said.
She said, “Toronto is our home, we still have our family there, a home there and a business there. We are proud Canadians.”
Asked whether they haven’t used Canada ‘as a country of convenience,’ she said, “It’s not true.”
She said she was sure that her husband would be acquitted as he is innocent. “I have confidence in this jury. This whole case was a misunderstanding and they should be able to see it,” she said.
Fifty-year-old Rana, who came to Canada in 1997 and became its citizen in 2001, has immigration offices in Toronto and Chicago.
The couple maintains a family home near the Canadian capital Ottawa where Rana’s father and brother’s family live.
(Gurmukh Singh can be contacted at gurmukh.s@ians.in)
- As jury debates Rana's fate, family proclaims his innocence - Jun 09, 2011
- US court postpones Rana's trial in Mumbai attack (Lead) - Jan 09, 2011
- US trial of Pakistani-Canadian in Mumbai attacks postponed - Jan 09, 2011
- Headley, Rana to admit plotting Mumbai attack at ISI's behest (Lead) - Apr 12, 2011
- Rana's Canadian connections traced, journalist brother devastated by arrest - Nov 19, 2009
- Did Rana facilitate terrorist entry into US and Canada?(Lead) - Nov 19, 2009
- Rana trial jury yet to reach verdict - Jun 09, 2011
- Jury begins deliberations in Rana trial - Jun 08, 2011
- Mumbai terror accused Rana arraigned in Chicago court - May 05, 2011
- Rana held not guilty in Mumbai attacks, guilty of aiding LeT (Third Lead) - Jun 10, 2011
- Canadian citizen Rana's trial called 'game changer' - May 23, 2011
- Headley was caught with a map of Copenhagen: FBI - Jun 02, 2011
- 'Rana, Headley were playing for the same team' - Jun 07, 2011
- ISI handler sought progress report on Mumbai terror plot - Jun 02, 2011
- Pakistan's role in Mumbai attack may come out in Rana trial (Third Lead) - May 24, 2011
Tags: business side, canada and the united states, canadians, capital ottawa, citizen, citizenship, confidence, convenience, david headley, fate, immigration business, immigration offices, member jury, misunderstanding, pakistan, rana, sun tv network, targets, terror attack, toronto