Man accused of plotting Oct. 7 attack on NYC has filed a refugee claim in Canada: immigration consultant

While a Pakistani man living in the Toronto area was allegedly planning a mass murder of Jews in New York, he was also seeking refugee status in Canada, according to an immigration consultant.

The US now wants to extradite 20-year-old Muhammad Shahzeb Khan after he was arrested by RCMP in a dramatic operation on September 4 in Ormstown, Que., not far from the US border.

The FBI alleges Khan told undercover agents he was building an ISIS cell to “slaughter” as many Jewish civilians as possible in a violent action around the anniversary of the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel.

Fazal Qadeer, an immigration consultant from Mississauga, Ontario who had worked with Khan, said he was surprised when he learned of the arrest. He said Khan had shown no signs of radicalisation.

Qadeer said Khan was in the process of claiming refugee status based on his sexual orientation. “He said he was gay,” Qadeer recently told CBC News.

According to US-based human rights group Outright International, same-sex relationships are prohibited under Pakistan’s criminal code.

The status of Khan’s immigration claim at the time of his arrest is unclear. Qadeer said Khan recently had a “long” interview with Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

A spokesperson for IRCC declined to comment on Khan’s case.

The refugee claim did not appear in a report prepared last month by immigration officials for the House of Commons standing committee on public safety and national security.

According to the report, Khan applied for a Canadian study permit in March 2023. It was cleared the following month and landed in Toronto on June 23, 2023.

The IRCC said it did not refer its file to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) for a “comprehensive security screening” because an initial assessment “did not reveal any risk indicators.”

The same committee of MPs is also investigating how Ahmed Fouad Mostafa Eldidi, 62, was able to acquire Canadian citizenship despite allegedly appearing in a gruesome ISIS propaganda video years earlier. Eldidi and his son, Mostafa Eldidi, a 27-year-old Egyptian national, are accused of plotting an ax and machete attack in Toronto.

Communicating with undercover agents

Within five months of Khan’s arrival in Canada, he had caught the attention of an FBI informant.

According to a US indictment unsealed last month, Khan had posted on social media “expressing his desire to carry out terrorist attacks in support” of the self-proclaimed Islamic State group (ISIS).

An FBI special agent wrote that two undercover agents later communicated with Khan via encrypted chat. He allegedly encouraged them to purchase AR-style rifles to attack an unnamed Jewish center in Brooklyn.

“If our plan is successful, this would be the largest attack on American soil since September 11,” Khan reportedly wrote.

Qadeer, the immigration consultant, referred to Kahn as a student but said he did not know where or what Khan had studied since arriving in Ontario.

CBC has contacted several post-secondary institutions in the Toronto area. No one agreed to comment on whether Khan was registered there.

According to the US indictment, Khan said he would leave his Toronto-area apartment on September 1. “He had already decided that in two months he would not be alive,” an FBI special agent wrote.

The complaint goes on to say that Khan arranged for a human smuggler to help him cross the border, and that he asked the undercover agents to “continue the attack if he was detained.”

LOOK | RCMP feared they did not have enough evidence to detain Khan:

RCMP feared they could not detain suspects linked to a Jewish terror plot, documents show

Court documents obtained by CBC News show the RCMP feared they did not have enough evidence to keep Muhammad Shazheb Khan in custody and feared he would carry out an alleged plot against Jews in New York.

Detained in Montreal

Court records show that at the time of his arrest on September 4, Canadian police believed Khan was living at the Mississauga address, which in fact housed Qadeer’s immigration business.

Qadeer said it is not unusual for customers to list his company’s address as a mailing address to ensure he receives all relevant paperwork from immigration officials.

Khan, who also went by the name Shahzeb Jadoon, is now being held in a Montreal prison while the US seeks his extradition for attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, ISIS.

Khan’s criminal lawyer, Gaétan Bourassa, briefly appeared on his behalf in a Montreal courtroom last month for an initial extradition hearing.

Bourassa recently told Reuters that Khan would contest the extradition request.

“He is a young person, arrested, and we will see what their evidence is to request extradition,” Bourassa said.

Khan is scheduled to appear before the Quebec Supreme Court in Montreal via video link on December 6.