Islamabad, Aug 7: Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch responded to questions about media reports of a possible Pakistani national’s involvement in an abortive assassination attempt in the United States by saying they were in contact with the Washington authorities and awaiting more information.
Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, a FO spokesperson, stated in a statement: “We have noticed the media reports. We are awaiting more information and are in contact with US authorities.The spokeswoman stated that they had taken note of US officials’ claims that the probe is still ongoing. “We also need to be certain of the individual in question’s antecedents before giving our formal reaction,” she continued.
The Justice Department announced on Tuesday that a Pakistani individual with suspected ties to Iran has been prosecuted in the US in relation to an abortive attempt to kill a US politician or government person. According to a court complaint, Asif Merchant, 46, tried to enlist Americans to carry out the conspiracy as payback for the US assassination of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards chief commander Qassem Soleiman in 2020.
Merchant was charged with murder for hire in federal court in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Prosecutors claim that Merchant spent time in Iran prior to going to the US. On July 16, a federal judge issued an order for his detention, according per court documents.
Attorney General Merrick Garland stated in a statement, “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.”
According to a US official cited by CNN, FBI investigators think that other current and past US government leaders, as well as US president Donald Trump, who approved the drone kill on Soleimani, were the plot’s intended targets.
The purported targets of the scheme are not identified in court filings. The criminal complaint states that the merchant informed a law enforcement informant that “security all around” one target. A representative with the Justice Department declined to provide more details. A representative for Trump’s presidential campaign was not immediately available for comment.
