By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Friday strongly condemned the shooting of two United States National Guard soldiers a few blocks from the White House, describing the attack as an act of terrorism that signals a troubling resurgence of the threat on a global scale.
The incident, which left one soldier dead and another critically wounded, has prompted a widening federal investigation into the Afghan national suspected of carrying out the ambush. President Donald J. Trump, who called the shooting an “act of terror,” blamed the Biden administration’s handling of the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan for allowing the suspect into the country.
“Pakistan strongly condemns the shooting incident in Washington DC, reportedly involving an Afghan national,” the Foreign Office said in a press release. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the departed soldier, and (we) wish the injured a swift and complete recovery.”
The statement extended sympathies to the victims’ families, as well as to the government and people of the United States. It called the attack “undoubtedly an act of terrorism and a heinous assault on US soil.” “For the past two decades, Pakistan has endured countless similar terrorist incidents, with clear linkages to Afghanistan,” the Foreign Office said. “This incident signifies the challenges posed by transnational terrorism and underscores the need for enhanced global cooperation to confront this menace.”
“The incident heralds a troubling resurgence of terrorism on a global scale,” it added. “The international community must take note and reinvigorate collective efforts in counter-terrorism.” Pakistan reaffirmed its commitment to working with the United States and the broader international community to address terrorism.
The shooting took place on Wednesday afternoon, a few blocks from the White House, where the two soldiers were patrolling as part of a DC task force. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died of her wounds, and her fellow Guardsman, Andrew Wolfe, 24, was “fighting for his life”.
Investigators are treating the case as a terrorism probe. The suspect, identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, drove cross-country before ambushing the Guard members. Armed with a .357 Magnum revolver, Lakanwal shot the two soldiers before being wounded in an exchange of gunfire with other troops. He remained in a hospital in serious condition.
The FBI has searched multiple properties linked to the suspect, including a home in Washington State. Agents seized numerous electronic devices from his residence, including cellphones, laptops and iPads, and interviewed his relatives. Lakanwal had been part of a CIA-backed unit in Afghanistan before arriving in the United States in 2021 under a resettlement program.
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