The Conservatives have called on the government to explain how a 20-year-old Pakistani arrested in Quebec over an alleged ISIS plot against American Jews was able to enter Canada.
Federal officials have declined to answer questions about Muhammad Shahzeb Khan’s immigration status, citing privacy laws, saying only that they are investigating how he came to Canada.
The US Department of Justice has described Khan as a “Pakistani national living in Canada,” and Canadian Jewish groups said officials told them at a briefing that they were exploring a student visa.
“We are investigating this,” said Aissa Diop, communications director for Immigration Minister Marc Miller. “We will not comment further as an investigation is ongoing.”
But Deputy Opposition Leader Melissa Lantsman said if the Liberals don’t make this important information public soon, the Tories “will try to force them to do so, like we did with Ahmed Fouad Mostafa Eldidi.”
Eldidi and his son Mostafa were arrested in July for allegedly planning an attack in Toronto for ISIS. Although the father is accused of appearing in a 2015 ISIS video, he was able to obtain refugee status and citizenship in Canada.
After Global News reported on the video, opposition parties called witnesses to testify before the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security on how Eldidi was able to emigrate from Egypt.
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The arrest of another alleged ISIS supporter just over a month later, this time over a planned mass shooting at a Jewish center in Brooklyn, NY, has raised more questions about security checkpoints.
After leaving Toronto early Wednesday, so was Khan arrested in Ormstown, Que., while reportedly trying to cross the border. Police said he had discussed using a smuggler to enter the US
He was arrested on an extradition warrant filed by the US, which accused him of attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, namely ISIS.
According to the FBI, Khan told undercover agents that he wanted to “slaughter” Jews in New York City on or around October 7, the anniversary of the Hamas attack that killed 1,200 people in Israel.
B’nai Brith Canada said in a statement that Khan was “in Canada on a student visa.” When asked if this information came from the RCMP, the group said it was “implied during the briefing Friday.”
During the session, the RCMP and Public Safety Canada were asked about Khan’s immigration status and responded that a student visa was being investigated, the group said.
“We heard from the RCMP and Public Safety language that it sounded to us that Mr. Khan was here on a student visa,” said Richard Robertson, director of research and advocacy for B’nai Brith.
The Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs also said that during the briefing on Khan’s arrest, the RCMP was asked about his status in Canada and responded by referring to a student visa.
The RCMP referred questions about the matter to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, which did not respond. Miller’s office also would not provide any information.
The federal government’s student visa program has grown dramatically in recent years amid concerns it has become a backdoor into Canada, prompting the Liberals to scale it back.
Although ISIS was defeated in Syria five years ago, it has found new bases of operations in West Africa and South Asia, and has begun to reassert itself in online propaganda urging its followers to carry out terrorist attacks.
Police in Canada have dealt with a wave of ISIS-related cases since last year, including a stabbing on a bus in Surrey, B.C., and a plot targeting Ottawa’s Jewish community.
A Calgary youth was arrested last year in connection with a plot during Calgary’s Pride month, and three men were convicted of murdering a witness in Mississauga, Ont., who was about to report their ISIS fundraising operation to the Police.
Two Canadian women were also charged for their alleged role with ISIS after the government flew them home from Syria, where they were captured by Kurdish fighters.
Stewart.Bell@globalnews.ca
