Alleged Terrorist Plotter Entered Canada on Student Visa: Minister

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Marc Miller is seen during an interview with La Presse Canadienne in his parliamentary office in Ottawa on May 31, 2024. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld

The Pakistani national arrested in Quebec last week while allegedly attempting to cross into New York State to carry out a terrorist attack was residing in Canada on a student visa.

Immigration Minister Marc Miller said Muhammad Shahzeb Khan applied for a student visa in May 2023 and entered Canada at the Toronto Pearson airport in June 2023. Miller provided the information on Sept. 10 while speaking to reporters on the margins of the Liberal caucus retreat in Nanaimo, B.C.

Khan was arrested Sept. 4 by the RCMP in Ormstown, Que., and has been accused of intending to carry out a mass shooting targeting Jews in New York City.

He was charged by U.S. authorities with attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). If found guilty, he could serve up to 20 years in prison.

The FBI had been the lead on the investigation, which involved an undercover operation. Khan planned to carry out a mass shooting with automatic and semi-automatic weapons against a Jewish centre in Brooklyn, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Khan, who faces extradition to the U.S., will appear before the Superior Court of Justice in Montreal on Sept. 13.

Conservatives have been asking for the government to explain how Khan had been able to come to Canada.

“The latest accused ISIS terrorist was able to enter Canada with a student visa in June 2023,” Conservative Deputy Leader Melissa Lantsman said on the X platform on Sept. 10, adding that cabinet ministers must appear before MPs in a parliamentary committee to offer explanations.

Miller said that because the charges are pending, it would be “dangerous” for him or any other officials to comment further because it could compromise the judicial process.

“Any defence lawyer is looking at elected officials in their comments about this case, and salivating at any comment that is made that could be seen as compromising the judicial process,” Miller said.

Miller is expected to face questioning at the House of Commons public safety committee on Sept. 19 about Khan’s case and that of the individuals arrested and charged with terrorism in July in the Toronto area.

The suspects, Ahmed Eldidi and his son Mostafa Eldidi, were arrested in Richmond Hill, Ont., and face nine different terrorism charges, including conspiracy to commit murder on behalf of ISIS. The Egypt-born individuals successfully went through multiple rounds of immigration and security screening in Canada.