The Foreign Office (FO) on Thursday strongly denied media reports, primarily circulating in Indian outlets, suggesting that a Pakistani citizen had been arrested in the United States for planning an attack. FO spokesperson Tahir Andrabi clarified that the suspect, identified as Luqman Khan, is an Afghan national who holds dual US–Afghan citizenship, not Pakistani.
According to the FO, Luqman Khan was born in Pakistan to Afghan refugee parents but never held Pakistani citizenship. “He is not a Pakistani national or of Pakistani origin,” Andrabi said, adding that Khan only spent some years in Pakistan as a refugee before moving to the United States, where he lived most of his life.
The clarification follows reports from India’s Hindustan Times, Times of India, and other outlets, as well as initial American reports, incorrectly identifying Khan as a Pakistani-American. A USA Today story also described him as a Pakistan-born US citizen, though more recent reports from The Associated Press do not attribute Pakistani origin to him. The University of Delaware confirmed that Khan was a student, but provided no information regarding nationality.
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Meanwhile, a press release from the US Department of Justice (DOJ), issued on December 1, detailed the charges against Khan but made no mention of Pakistan. The DOJ said Khan was stopped during a traffic stop in Wilmington, Delaware, on November 24, during which he refused police commands and was subsequently arrested.
Officials discovered a loaded .357 Glock handgun in his vehicle along with a handwritten notebook outlining plans for firearms use, attack strategies, and methods to evade law enforcement. The notebook also referenced a University of Delaware police officer by name and included a building layout labeled “UD Police Station.”
A later search of Khan’s residence uncovered additional weapons, including a Glock 19 pistol fitted with an illegal machine-gun conversion device, a .556 rifle with optics, extended magazines, hollow-point ammunition, and a tactical vest equipped with a ballistic plate.
The DOJ said Khan has been charged with illegal possession of a machine gun, an offense that carries a maximum sentence of up to 10 years imprisonment if convicted. Sentencing will be determined by a federal judge in accordance with US guidelines and statutory requirements.
The FO emphasized that attempts to link the suspect to Pakistan are “misleading and inaccurate,” urging the media to avoid spreading unfounded claims.
