Pakistani national charged over assassination plot in US

Washington: A Pak­istani national was charged in a New York federal court on Tuesday over a plot to assassinate a US politician and other officials on American soil. Asif Raza Merchant is alleged to have ties to Iran.

Although CNN quoted an official as saying that ex-president Donald Trump and other current and former government officials were the intended targets of the plot, the White House clarified there was no connection between this matter and the assassination attempt against the Republican presidential nominee in Butler, Pennsylvania.

The criminal complaint, unsealed in a federal court in Brooklyn, New York, announced the arrest and charging of Asif Raza Merchant, 46, in a “murder-for-hire” plot as “part of a scheme to assassinate a US politician or government officials on US soil.”

On the other hand, Pakistan's Foreign Office said they were in contact with the US authorities and wanted background information of Asif Merchant.