ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office (FO) on Thursday clarified that a man arrested last week in Delaware, US, over firearms and alleged attack plans is not of Pakistani origin. FO spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said the suspect is Afghan and had spent a few years in Pakistan as a refugee before moving to the United States, where he has lived most of his life.
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The clarification follows multiple media reports, including from Indian and American outlets, that identified the suspect, Luqman Khan, as a Pakistan-born US citizen. Andrabi emphasized that these reports were incorrect. “He is not [a] Pakistani national or of Pakistan origin,” he said.
#BREAKING: Pakistan disputes US media reports linking Delaware gun suspect to Pakistan.
Foreign Office says the man charged in the US with illegal firearms and a notebook outlining attack plans “was Afghan,” not Pakistani. https://t.co/73Ro9dft1u pic.twitter.com/v6qPgbezqW
— Arab News Pakistan (@arabnewspk) December 4, 2025
Afghan citizen card of Luqmaan Khan, arrested in Delaware, USA on charges of plotting an attack against the University of Delaware. This confirms Afghans discrediting Pakistan by deliberately showcasing their citizens involved in terrorist activites abroad as Pakistanis pic.twitter.com/VeqXK6yhff
— Global Eyes_@Army 804 (@YumnaZaidi50394) December 3, 2025
According to the US Department of Justice, Khan was stopped by police on November 24 during a traffic stop in Wilmington, Delaware. He refused to comply with officers, who then arrested him. A search of his vehicle revealed a .357-caliber Glock handgun with 27 rounds and a handwritten notebook detailing additional weapons, firearms, potential attack plans, and strategies to avoid law enforcement detection.
Further searches of Khan’s residence uncovered another handgun equipped with an illegal machine gun conversion device, a .556 rifle with scope, eleven extended magazines, hollow-point ammunition, and a tactical vest with ballistic plates. The Department of Justice said he was formally charged on November 26 with illegal possession of a machine gun.
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If convicted, Khan could face up to 10 years in federal prison, with a judge determining the final sentence in line with US Sentencing Guidelines. Reports also note that Khan is a student at the University of Delaware, and his notebook included references to the campus police department, including building layouts.
The FO’s statement aims to correct misinformation linking the suspect to Pakistan and underscores that he is of Afghan origin.