Pakistani Student Arrested in Quebec for Alleged Plot Against Brooklyn Jewish Center

A Pakistani man, Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, was arrested in Quebec for allegedly planning an attack on a Jewish center in Brooklyn. He entered Canada on a student visa. Authorities claim he intended to perpetrate the attack in support of the Islamic State group. The Conservative opposition in Canada demands answers regarding his entry into the country.

A Pakistani man arrested last week in Quebec and accused of plotting to attack a Jewish center in Brooklyn came to Canada on a student visa, Canada's Immigration Minister Marc Miller said Tuesday.

Miller stated that Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, 20, was granted a student visa in May 2023 and arrived in Toronto in June of that year. He declined to provide more details citing the ongoing court case.

U.S. authorities allege Khan planned to use weapons in support of the Islamic State group to commit a mass shooting on the one-year anniversary of the October 7th attack by Hamas.

The Conservative opposition party in Canada has been demanding answers about how Khan was allowed into the country.

"We take any security breach and entry into Canada very seriously," Miller asserted. "A determined individual can gain access to this country, and it is up to our security services to apprehend them if they commit or are about to commit a crime." He also mentioned that Canada's police forces "did their jobs" by arresting Khan and said the courts should now handle the case. Earlier this year, a father and son were arrested in Toronto for reportedly plotting a terror attack.

The father, Ahmed Fouad Mostafa Eldidi, holds Canadian citizenship while his son, Mostafa Eldidi, does not. The father faces additional charges of aggravated assault for the benefit of the Islamic State group outside of Canada in 2015.

(With inputs from agencies.)