ISLAMABAD: Taking notice of incorrect news to embarrass Pakistan, the Foreign Office swiftly clarified on Thursday that a man arrested by the US police last week in Delaware with a handgun, ammunition and written plans for an attack was not a Pakistani national but an Afghan.
“He is not a Pakistani national or of Pakistan origin. He is an Afghan, spent a few years as a refugee in Pakistan and then went to the US, where he spent most of his life,” Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said in a statement sent to media persons.
As usual, it was the Indian media that wrongly identified the arrested man, Luqman Khan held on November 24 as from Pakistan, even though US authorities did not identify him.
Giving details of the Afghan citizen, the US Department of Justice on Dec 1 said he lived in Delaware’s Wilmington city but did not give details of his country of origin. It said Khan was stopped by the police at a traffic stop on November 24, and when he refused to comply, was arrested. “During investigation, officers discovered in Khan’s vehicle a .357 caliber Glock handgun loaded with 27 rounds,” it said.
The statement added that officials also discovered a handwritten notebook, in which Khan discussed “additional weapons and firearms, how they could be used in an attack, and how law enforcement detection could be avoided once an attack was carried out”.
“The notebook 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,” it said.
It added that later, law enforcement searched his residence and recovered “a Glock 19 9mm handgun equipped with an illegal machinegun conversion device, commonly called a ‘switch’”.
“Law enforcement also recovered a .556 rifle with a scope and a red dot sight, eleven more extended magazines, hollow point rounds of ammunition, and a two-plate tactical vest equipped with a single ballistic plate,” the department said.
According to the Department of Justice press release, Khan was charged with illegally possessing a machine gun on November 26.
“If convicted of the charge, Khan faces a maximum penalty of 10 years of imprisonment. If he is ultimately convicted, a federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the US Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors,” it said.
