Pakistan announced on Wednesday that it is in communication with US authorities regarding the alleged involvement of a Pakistani national in a thwarted assassination attempt in Washington, a development that could potentially strain the relations between the two countries.
“We have seen the media reports. We are in touch with the US authorities and await further details. We have also noted the statements by US officials that this is an ongoing investigation,” the Foreign Office (FO) stated in a press release today, keeping the public informed about the evolving situation.
The FO, in a cautious approach, emphasized the need to verify the background of the individual in question before issuing an official response.
On Tuesday, the US Justice Department charged Asif Merchant, 46, with murder for hire in a federal court in Brooklyn, New York. According to court records, a federal judge ordered his detention on July 16, as reported by Reuters.
Merchant allegedly sought to recruit individuals in the United States to execute the plot in retaliation for the US killing of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ top commander Qassem Soleimani in 2020, according to a criminal complaint.
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Attorney General Merrick Garland stated, “For years, the Justice Department has been working aggressively to counter Iran’s brazen and unrelenting efforts to retaliate against American public officials for the killing of Iranian General Soleimani.”
FBI investigators believe that former President Donald Trump, who authorized the drone strike on Soleimani, and other current and former US government officials were the intended targets of the plot, CNN reported, citing a US official.
