Taliban FM: Washington Shooting Has No Link to Afghan People or Government

DID Press: Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban government’s foreign minister, said the recent shooting in Washington that killed one U.S. National Guard member and critically injured another has no connection to the Afghan people or the Afghan government. His remarks mark the Taliban’s first official response to last week’s incident, in which Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan migrant, was accused of opening fire on the National Guard personnel.

Muttaqi described the act as “entirely individual,” saying: “This incident has no link to the noble people of Afghanistan or to the government of Afghanistan. It was an individual criminal act, and the person involved was trained by the Americans themselves.”

U.S. officials have confirmed that Lakanwal previously served in a CIA-backed unit in Afghanistan. Referring to that background, Muttaqi added: “They trained him, assigned him missions, and transferred him from Afghanistan to the United States through an illegal process that violated international standards.”

Lakanwal’s case quickly became a flashpoint in U.S. domestic politics, amid renewed pressure from Donald Trump for stricter immigration policies. Lakanwal had been granted asylum in the United States during the Trump administration.