America: Accused of plotting to kill ‘politician or government official’, Pakistani arrested

The US Department of Justice on Tuesday Expression I said that the law enforcement agencies Iran Asif Merchant, a Pakistani citizen with alleged links to the US, was arrested on charges of involvement in a conspiracy to kill an American politician or government official.

Islamabad says that it is in touch with the American authorities in this regard. Pakistani Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said in a statement late on Tuesday: ‘We have seen the media reports. We are in touch with the US authorities and await further details.’

He added: ‘We have noted the statements of the US officials. The matter is still under investigation. We also need to know for sure about the person’s background and past before giving our official response.’

Released on August 6 by the US Department of Justice Press Release Asif Merchant, alias Asif Raza Merchant, 46, of Brooklyn, has been charged with hiring a hitman in an alleged plot to kill a politician or US government official on American soil.

According to the statement, US law enforcement agencies foiled the plan before any attack and Asif Merchant is now in federal custody.

According to the Associated Press news agency, the case brought to light by the US Department of Justice is the latest murder plot to target American public figures, which started abroad, two years ago. A separate plot against former Trump administration national security adviser John Bolton was foiled.

Court documents did not identify any potential targets, but U.S. officials acknowledged last month that Iran had threatened former President Donald Trump’s life days before a rally in Pennsylvania. Additional security was provided earlier. In this rally, Trump was injured by a gunman.

This section contains related reference points (Related Nodes field).

A law enforcement official said the July 13 shooting of a 20-year-old Pennsylvania man was unrelated to the threat from Iran, and the arrest of Asif Merchant was unrelated to the attempted assassination of Trump. .

But an FBI agent’s affidavit suggests Asif Merchant had current or former high-level officials like Trump in mind.

US officials have warned for years that Iran is seeking revenge for the 2020 killing of Qasem Soleimani, head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force. The attack was ordered by Trump when he was president. The U.S. government has since paid for security for several Trump administration officials, and in 2022 the Justice Department indicted an Iranian operative involved in a botched plot to assassinate Bolton.

Regarding Asif Merchant’s arrest, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said, “For years, the Department of Justice has been working to counter Iran’s ruthless and unrelenting efforts to retaliate against U.S. government officials for the assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani.” is working aggressively.

“The Department of Justice will use all resources to deter and hold accountable those who seek to carry out Iran’s dangerous plots against American citizens, and to prevent an authoritarian regime from targeting U.S. government officials and the United States.” will not tolerate attempts to endanger the national security of

US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray said that ‘this dangerous murder-for-hire plot was allegedly prepared by a Pakistani national, who has close ties to Iran, in today’s complaint.

‘A foreign-directed plot to assassinate a government official or an American citizen is a threat to our national security and will be met with the full force and resources of the FBI.’

On the other hand, White House press secretary Karen Jean-Pierre told reporters during a press briefing on Tuesday that the United States is “monitoring Iranian threats against former politicians.”

He added: ‘We consider this a case of national and internal security of the highest priority. We have met several times at the highest levels of our government to develop and implement a comprehensive response.’

Details of allegations against Asif Merchant

According to the allegations contained in the complaint and related publicly filed court documents, Asif Merchant planned to kill a politician or a US government official on US soil.

According to a description released on the US Department of Justice website: ‘In April 2024, after spending time in Iran, Asif Merchant arrived in the United States from Pakistan and contacted a person he believed to be the Can help them in the project. This person reported Asif Merchant’s behavior to the law enforcement agencies and became a Confidential Source (CS).

In early June, Asif Merchant met CS in New York and explained the assassination plot. Asif Merchant told CS that the work he had for CS was not a one-time job and would continue. Merchant then made a ‘finger gun’ gesture with his hand, indicating that it was an act of killing.

Asif Merchant added that the intended victims would be “targeted here” in the US. He directed the CS to arrange meetings with the persons whose services Asif Merchant could engage to carry out these operations.

This section contains related reference points (Related Nodes field).

Asif Merchant explained that his plan involved several criminal schemes: (1) stealing documents or USB drives from the target’s home, (2) planning protests and (3) impersonating a politician or government official. Officer’s murder.

“In this meeting, Asif Merchant started planning possible assassination scenarios and questioned the CS on how he would kill a target under different circumstances. Specifically, Asif Merchant asked CS to explain how a target would die in various scenarios. He told the CS that the man would be ‘surrounded by security.’

Asif Merchant said the killing would take place after he left the US and that he would communicate with the CS from abroad using code words. CS asked if the merchant had spoken to an unknown ‘party’ in his country, with whom he was dealing. Asif Merchant replied that he had spoken and the Malik party asked him to ‘finalize’ the plan and leave America.

In mid-June, Asif Merchant met with the alleged killers, who were actually US law enforcement undercover (UC) officers in New York. He told the USCIS that he wanted three jobs from him: stealing documents, organizing protests at political rallies and killing a ‘political figure’ for him. Asif Merchant said that after they leave the US, the hitmen will receive instructions on who to kill in the last week of August or the first week of September.

‘Asif Merchant then began to arrange a means of obtaining five thousand dollars in cash to pay the UCs as a prepayment for the murder, which he eventually obtained with the help of an individual abroad.

On June 21, Asif Merchant met UCS in New York and paid them five thousand dollars in advance.

“After Asif paid five thousand dollars to the UCs, one of the UCs said ‘we are bound now’ to which the merchant replied ‘yes’. UC then said, ‘Now we know we have to move on. We will, to which the merchant replied ‘Yes, of course.’

‘Merchant then made arrangements for the vessel and intended to depart the United States on Friday 12 July 2024. On July 12, law enforcement agents arrested Merchant before he left the country.

Asif Merchant said that he has a wife and children in Iran and a wife and children in Pakistan. The FBI is investigating the matter.’

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah K. Wink, Gilbert Raine and Douglas Pravda for the Eastern District of New York and trial attorneys David Smith and Joshua Champagne of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case, according to a press release.

A criminal complaint is merely an accusation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.