FO dismisses foreign media reports, says US shooting suspect is Afghan, not Pakistani

Islamabad (Web Desk): The Foreign Office (FO) on Thursday, refuting the media reports, 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, FO Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi clarified that the accused had no Pakistani nationality or heritage, saying, “He is an Afghan citizen who lived in Pakistan as a refugee for a few years before moving to the United States, where he has spent most of his life.”

The clarification followed information shared by the US Department of Justice, which stated that the arrested individual, Luqmaan Khan of Wilmington, was taken into custody after refusing to follow police instructions to step out of his vehicle.

During a search, officers found a .357-caliber Glock handgun loaded with 27 rounds, fitted into a microplastic conversion brace kit. They also recovered three more loaded 27-round magazines, a loaded 9mm Glock magazine, an armored ballistic plate, and a marble notebook.

According to US authorities, the notebook contained handwritten notes discussing other weapons and firearms.

It also identified a member of the University of Delaware’s police force by name and included a rough sketch of a building with marked entry and exit points labeled “UD Police Station.”

Andrabi also referred to Pakistan’s earlier response to the November 26 shooting in Washington, DC, which reportedly involved an Afghan national. The FO had condemned the attack, calling it an act of terrorism and a cruel assault carried out on American soil.

He noted that Pakistan had endured countless terrorist attacks over the last twenty years, many of which had clear connections to Afghanistan.

The Washington shooting, he said, reflected the persistent threat of terrorism that now cuts across borders and emphasized the need for stronger global cooperation to confront it.

Andrabi warned that the incident pointed to a worrying re-emergence of terrorism internationally and urged the global community to renew joint efforts against this growing menace.