The White House Denies Pakistani Citizen’s Involvement in Assassination Plot Against Trump

The White House has denied any involvement of Pakistani citizen Asif Merchant in a plot to assassinate former U.S. President Donald Trump. White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre stated late on Tuesday that “Asif Merchant has nothing to do with the attempt on [Donald] Trump’s life.”

Trump survived an assassination attempt on July 13, 2024, while speaking at an open-air campaign rally near Butler, Pennsylvania.

The U.S. Department of Justice had earlier claimed that Asif Merchant, a Pakistani citizen, was involved in a plot to murder Trump. Merchant reportedly has two wives, one living in Pakistan and the other in Iran. According to the Department of Justice, Merchant had traveled to Iran, Syria, and Iraq multiple times and was alleged to have financed the assassination attempt.

However, a document presented in New York’s Brooklyn Federal Court did not specifically name Trump as a target, though it was presumed he was targeted due to his 2020 order for a drone attack on Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ top commander, Qassem Soleimani.

It has also been reported that the Secret Service heightened Trump’s security in recent weeks, allegedly in response to the Merchant plot. The plot was believed to have been launched in April when Merchant allegedly came to the U.S. to “hire assassins” to kill U.S. government officials. Despite these claims, there is no concrete evidence linking Merchant to the attempted assassination of Trump in Pennsylvania.

Asif Merchant is currently in the custody of U.S. authorities in New York and is facing prosecution.

Pakistan’s Response

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Foreign Office has confirmed that Islamabad is in contact with American authorities and is awaiting further details. Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra-Baloch stated that they are verifying information about Asif Merchant before issuing an official response.

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