A Pakistani man, accused of planning an attack on a Jewish center in New York City in support of Islamic State (ISIS), will challenge his extradition to the US, his lawyer said on Monday, according to a Reuters report.
Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, 20, was detained in Canada earlier this month while allegedly attempting to enter the United States. He faces charges of attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist group, specifically ISIS.
The US government is seeking his extradition.
"I have the mandate to contest the extradition hearing," Khan's lawyer, Gaetan Bourassa, told Reuters, adding, "He is a young person, arrested, and we will see what is their proof to ask to be extradited."
Bourassa declined to comment further on the case until the US provides evidence, which has not yet been submitted.
Last week, Canada’s Immigration Minister Marc Miller revealed that Khan entered Canada in June 2023 on a student visa and arrived in Toronto the following June. He declined to offer further details, citing the ongoing court proceedings.
The US Department of Justice alleges that Khan had been planning a mass shooting at a Jewish center in Brooklyn, targeting around October 7, 2024, the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel.