Man caught with gun, written plans for attack in US is Afghan, not Pakistani national: FO

The Foreign Office of Pakistan said on Thursday that the man taken into custody in Delaware last week after being found in possession of a handgun, ammunition and written plans for an attack was not Pakistani national.

FO spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said that the suspect is an Afghan national.

“He is not of Pakistani nationality or origin. He is an Afghan who lived for some years in Pakistan as a refugee before moving to the United States, where he has spent most of his life,” Andrabi said in a statement shared with reporters.

The clarification followed multiple reports, including some from US and Indian media, that described the suspect as Pakistani.

The reports claimed that the man, identified as Luqman Khan, was a US citizen born in Pakistan. He was taken into custody on Nov 24. 

However, a Dec 1 press release from the US Department of Justice outlining the charges referred to Khan only as a resident of Wilmington, Delaware, without mentioning his nationality.

A separate report by a wire service earlier on Thursday also omitted any reference to Pakistani origin. It described Khan as a University of Delaware student.

The man was arrested on Nov 24 “after police found a handgun, ammunition and written plans for an attack in his vehicle,” which included references to “martyrdom” and named a campus police officer as a possible target.