Pakistani Man Accused Of Plotting Toronto Attacks To Remain In Custody

TORONTO — A Pakistani man accused of plotting bomb attacks on downtown Toronto was ordered to remain in custody on Monday pending a decision on whether Canada will try to deport him.

Jahanzeb Malik said little as he appeared via video link from the jail in Lindsay, Ont., at an immigration hearing at the Immigration and Refugee Board offices.

Government lawyer Jessica Lourenco offered no new evidence against him.

"The minister wishes to rely on previous submissions in establishing that Mr. Malik would be unlikely to appear for his admissibility hearing and for the current and future danger to the public if he were at liberty," Lourenco said.

"The minister continues to gather and examine evidence related to Mr. Malik's inadmissibility on the grounds of security."

At his first hearing a week ago, Lourenco accused Malik, 33, of planning to blow up the U.S. consulate in Toronto and buildings in the city's financial district. She also said he was an Islamic State supporter who planned to video the bombings to inspire others to follow suit.

Malik's lawyer made no submissions.

Presiding board member Iris Kohler, who noted Jahanzeb is a permanent resident of Canada rather than a citizen, set his next hearing date for April 14.

While Malik has strong ties to Canada, including children, Kohler decided he also had a "level of disregard for law in general" as well as "strong anti-government views."

She noted he has "some level of a criminal record" for which he was granted conditional discharges but said the unspecified offences involved violence or threats of violence.

"You do, on the balance of probabilities, pose a flight risk, a danger to the public and you should be detained for security reasons," Kohler said.

Kohler said she didn't expect his detention would be lengthy and that she expected the government to disclose its plans for him at his next hearing.

Agents for Canada Border Services Agency arrested Malik on March 9. He was detained as a danger to the public and someone who would be unlikely to appear at a hearing that would determine if he can remain in the country.

Malik, who came to Canada as a student more than a decade ago, has until March 24 to argue for release on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.

His lawyer, Anser Farooq, told The Canadian Press last week that it was "absurd" to deport someone authorities are arguing is dangerous. Farooq also said it was unlikely Malik would be released before then.

It's still not clear why authorities have gone the immigration route rather than charge him criminally. The government has refused to explain its rationale. Legal experts have noted immigration proceedings require a much lower evidentiary threshold than criminal ones.