Pakistani Isis Supporter Arrested in Canada for Plot to Bomb US Consulate in Toronto

A Pakistani man and self-proclaimed ISIS supporter was arrested by Canadian authorities who have alleged that he had plotted to bomb the US Consulate in Toronto and major buildings in the financial district. 

Jahanzeb Malik, 33, was arrested on Monday and presented before the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) on Wednesday morning, as officials from the Canada Border Services Agency seek to deport him to Pakistan. 

Malik had moved to Canada on a student visa in 2004 and won permanent citizenship in 2009 after he got married, according to Toronto Sun. 

However, authorities grew sceptical of him in 2013 after he returned from Pakistan, though he had reportedly travelled to his home country several times.

In September 2014, the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team began investigating Malik, after which they claim to have found evidence of his links to extremist groups, and of his plans to blow up the US Consulate using a remote-controlled bomb.

An undercover official had befriended Malik, and the latter revealed to him that he was a 'personal freind' of radical preacher Anwar al-Awlaki, a US-born cleric who was killed in a drone strike in Yemen. 

Malik had reportedly disclosed that he was a sympathiser of terror groups such as the Islamic State and the Al Qaeda, and that he had attended weapons training sessions in Libya. 

Authorities said Malik attempted to radicalise the undercover cop in order to get his help in bombing the US Consulate and other areas in Toronto. 

However, authorities have not charged Malik with criminal offences, Toronto Sun reported. 

Malik's lawyers have demanded that he be tried in a criminal court and not under the immigration law.

Canada is facing threats of 'lone-wolf' attacks by ISIS supporters,  especially after a video showcased Ottawa citizen-turned jihadist John Maguire calling on Muslims in the country to join the group or launch terror attacks. 

Canada was jolted after the Parliament Hill shooting in October last year in what was said to be a 'lone-wolf' attack.