WASHINGTON: A Pak­istani national — with alleged ties to Iran — was charged in a New York federal court on Tuesday over a plot to assassinate a US politician, and other officials on American soil.

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.”

“This dangerous murder-for-hire plot was allegedly orchestrated by a Pakistani national with close ties to Iran and is straight out of the Iranian playbook,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray.

Documents revealed that the defendant was a Karachi resident with alleged ties to Tehran. Merchant told investigators he has a wife and children in Iran, and a separate family in Pakistan.

Law enforcement “foiled the charged plot before any attack could be carried out. Merchant is in federal custody in New York,” the document added.

The court documents, however, clarified that “charges in the complaint are allegations, and Merchant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.”

Details of alleged plot

According to court documents, in April 2024, after spending time in Iran, Merchant arrived in the US from Pakistan and contacted a person he believed could assist him with the scheme. That person reported Merchant’s conduct to law enforcement and became a confidential source for US law enforcement.

In early June, Merchant met the source in New York and explained his assassination plot. Merchant told the person that the opportunity he had for the source was not a one-time opportunity and that there would be multiple chances to carry it out. Merchant then made a “finger gun” motion with his hand, indicating that the opportunity was related to a killing.

Merchant further stated that the intended victims would be “targeted here,” meaning in the US, and instructed the source to arrange meetings with individuals whom Merchant could hire to carry out these actions.

At that meeting, Merchant began planning potential assassination scenarios and quizzed the source on how he would kill a target in various scenarios. Specifically, Merchant asked the source to explain how the target would die in different scenarios. Merchant told the source that there would be “security all around” the person.

The source asked whether Merchant had spoken to the unidentified “party” back home with whom Merchant was working. He responded that he had and that the party back home told him to “finalise” the plan and leave the US.

In mid-June, Merchant met with the purported hitmen, who were, in fact, undercover US law enforcement officers in New York. He advised them that he was looking for three services: theft of documents, arranging protests at political rallies, and killing a “political person.”

Merchant stated that the hitmen would receive instructions on who to kill either the last week of August or the first week of September, after Merchant had departed the US.

He then began arranging to obtain $5,000 in cash to pay the would-be hitmen as an advance payment for the assassination, which he eventually received with assistance from an individual overseas.

Merchant subsequently made flight arrangements and planned to leave the US on July 12. However, he was placed under arrest before he could leave the country.

Reaction from Pakistan

Officials at the Pakistani Embassy in Washington, which currently does not have an ambassador, said they were reviewing the matter and were not yet in a position to comment.

Meanwhile, in a statement issued from Islamabad in the early hours of Wednesday, the Foreign Office spokesperson acknowledged that they were in touch with US authorities over the “ongoing investigation” and awaiting further details.

“Before giving our formal reaction, we also need to be sure of the antecedents of the individual in question,” the statement said.

Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2024