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TORONTO — A Liberal MP said he had no idea he had posed at an event Friday beside a man the Canadian government is deporting for being a former member of a terrorist organization.

Photos posted on the Facebook and Twitter pages of Michael Levitt, the Member of Parliament for York Centre, showed the politician outside the Imdadul Islamic Centre with Jason Pippin.

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The Immigration and Refugee Board ordered Pippin’s deportation last July, ruling he had been a “fully committed” member of the Pakistani terrorist group Lashkar-e-Tayiba in 1996 and ‘97.

The encounter took place at one of several “ring of peace” events in the city. Jews and Christians surrounded the highly-regarded Islamic centre in a show of support for the Muslim community following Sunday’s deadly attack at a Quebec City mosque.

“I was not aware of who he was or what his background was. That’s obviously not something I condone in any way shape or form,” Levitt said later, adding Pippin had not raised his deportation case with the MP.

Pippin said he likewise did not know he was posing with a Toronto MP. “I didn’t even know who he was,” said the U.S. citizen, who is still hoping the government will allow him to stay in Canada.

At the age of 18, Pippin traveled to Pakistan “to engage in jihad,” according to the IRB. “He wanted to protect Muslims who were being victimized by Indian authorities. This idealistic goal, however, required him to potentially kill Indian soldiers.”