The Foreign Office while refuting media reports has clarified that the man charged by the US police last week of illegally possessing firearms and plans for an attack, was not a Pakistani national.
In a statement released in Islamabad on Thursday, Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said said “The man is not a Pakistani national or of Pakistani origin. He is (an) Afghan, (who) spent a few years as a refugee (in Pakistan) and then went to the USA where he spent most of his life.”
According to a press release issued by US Department of Justice, the arrested person Luqmaan Khan, a resident of Wilmington, was taken into custody after he refused to comply with the police order to move out of his vehicle.
“During their investigation, officers discovered in Khan’s vehicle a .357 caliber Glock handgun loaded with 27 rounds. The handgun had been inserted into a microplastic conversion firearm brace kit. Within the vehicle, officers also found all the following: (i) three more loaded, 27-round magazines (one in the storage slot of the conversion kit); (ii) a loaded Glock 9mm magazine; (iii) an armored ballistic plate; and (iv) a marble composition notebook,” the press release added.
Moreover, in the handwritten notebook, Khan discussed additional weapons and firearms, and referenced a member of the University of Delaware’s Police Department by name, and included a layout of a building with entry and exit points under which the words “UD Police Station” were printed.
Following the November 26 shooting in Washington DC reportedly involving an Afghan national, the Foreign Office spokesperson had strongly condemned the incident, calling it an “act of terrorism and a heinous assault on United States soil.”
“For the past two decades, Pakistan has endured countless similar terrorist incidents, with clear linkages to Afghanistan. This incident signifies the challenges posed by transnational terrorism and underscores the need for enhanced global cooperation to confront this menace.”
He said that the Washington shooting incident heralded a troubling resurgence of terrorism on a global scale and the international community must take note and reinvigorate collective efforts in counter-terrorism.
