The shooting of National Guard members in Washington, D.C., for which an Afghan immigrant has been charged, has nothing to do with the people or government of Afghanistan, Afghan Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said Wednesday.
Muttaqi’s comments are the first on the Afghan Taliban government incident and come a week after events in Washington when suspect Rahmanullah Lakanwal is accused of opening fire on guard members, killing one and seriously wounding another.
On Tuesday, Lakanwal was charged with murder and other crimes when he made his first court appearance, appearing remotely from a hospital bed.
“This incident has nothing to do with the honorable people of Afghanistan or the Afghan government,” Muttaqi said.
“This is an individual criminal act and the person who committed it was trained by the Americans themselves.”
U.S. officials have said Lakanwal was part of a CIA-backed unit in Afghanistan. It entered the United States in 2021 through then-President Joe Biden’s Operation Allied Welcome plan for those who fear retaliation from Taliban forces, who took control of Afghanistan after the withdrawal of the US military.
“They (the Americans) trained him, assigned him and through an illegal process, contrary to any international standard, they brought him from Afghanistan to the United States,” Muttaqi said.
Lakanwal’s status as an Afghan immigrant quickly became a flashpoint in Trump’s immigration crackdown. He was granted asylum under Trump.
