Physician, LeT's money man: Tahawwur Rana's many faces

NEW DELHI: "Mujahideens involved in the Mumbai attacks should receive Pakistan's highest posthumous military honors," reads the transcript of an intercepted conversation which Tahawwur Rana had with David Coleman Headley. The disturbing transcripts were cited by US justice department as crucial evidence in Rana's conviction order way back in 2013.

A physician, an immigration entrepreneur, a hardline radical with an entrenched hatred for India and a Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist managing finances for the outfit - Tahawwur Rana has many faces. He was a confidant of ISI's Major Iqbal plotting the audacious sea-borne terror attack in Mumbai which was seen by the then govt as an undeclared war by Pakistan and had triggered demands for retaliation.

Rana alongside Headley established the groundwork for the Mumbai attacks, which was the deadliest of a series of terror runs organised by ISI through outfits like Lashkar and Indian Mujahideen. Rana had arrived in Mumbai via Dubai before the attacks to ensure arrangements were precisely executed, say investigators. "He had checked into Hotel Renaissance in Powai during his visit to India between Nov 11 and 21 in 2008. The attacks occurred five days after he departed," states a police document.

With decks cleared for Rana's extradition, India's endeavours since 2019 have finally yielded results. While it has been 16 years, the ghastly memories of the deadliest terror attack, which had caught the Indian security establishment napping, continue to be an impediment in normalisation of ties with Pakistan.