Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Luqman Khan, the individual arrested on charges of planning an attack in the U.S. state of Delaware, holds dual U.S. and Afghan citizenship.
On November 24th, the U.S. arrested Luqman Khan, a 25-year-old University of Delaware student, from his car along with a quantity of weapons, military gear, and a notebook.
The New York Post, citing local police, reported that he was born in Pakistan, immigrated to the U.S. as a child, and is now a U.S. citizen.
Tahir Andarabi, the spokesperson for Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, clarified that Luqman Khan was born in Pakistan to an Afghan family but has never acquired Pakistani citizenship.
He held Indian media responsible for spreading ‘baseless news’ about the matter and said the purpose of publishing this ‘news is to defame Pakistan.’
The notebook found in Luqman Khan’s car included a map of the University of Delaware Police Department, entry and exit points, instructions on how to use the weapons for an attack, and methods for evading arrest.
Phrases such as ‘Kill everyone’ and ‘Martyrdom’ were mentioned in his notes.
It is still unclear why Khan intended to carry out this attack, but the New York Post wrote that after his arrest, he told the police that ‘Martyrdom is one of the greatest things you can do.’
Luqman Khan’s neighbors said that he used to be friendly, but in recent months he had acted strangely and become withdrawn. He has no criminal record.
