Washington DC [US], December 8 : The head of the Afghanistan-US Relations Office in the United States has called for a serious and comprehensive investigation after the shooting that took place near White House on Thanksgiving Eve, which resulted in the death of one US National Guard, as per a report by Tolo News.
A wave of concern and questions has arisen within the Afghan community in the United States, and even beyond.
In response, the head of the Afghanistan-U.S. Relations Office in the U.S. has called for a serious and comprehensive investigation into the case.
As per Tolo News, Saber Naseri, head of the Afghanistan-US Relations Office, stated, "We have not seen any video proving that the individual, identified as Afghan, attacked an American. I visited the area where the incident took place, asked questions, and I want to obtain the video to verify whether Lakanwal committed this act or not."
Tolo News further reported that migrant rights activists have warned that the US should not subject thousands of Afghan migrants to discrimination due to the actions of one individual.
It cited political analyst Wahed Faqiri, who said, "One of the key principles of American law is that crimes are individual, not collective. That's why Afghans are calling on the U.S. government to uphold its own principles and avoid generalizing the actions of one individual to the entire Afghan community."
This comes as the US Citizenship and Immigration Services issued a fresh set of guidelines in the wake of the shooting of two national guards by an Afghan person on the eve of Thanksgiving in the United States. The new policy guidance would authorise USCIS officials to consider country-specific factors from 19 countries when reviewing immigration requests.
In an official statement, USCIS said that it will consider relevant country-specific factors when using its broad discretionary authorities regarding aliens from 19 high-risk countries after halting refugee resettlement from Afghanistan and the entry of Afghan nationals in the first year of the Trump administration.
The shooting occurred at close range in central Washington, prompting a swift reaction from the administration. Addressing reporters, Trump criticised former president Joe Biden's earlier immigration policies, claiming the suspect had entered the United States from Afghanistan in 2021, and referring to the Asian country as a "hellhole."
Authorities identified the accused as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national who arrived in 2021. Officials believe he acted alone. Citing information from Homeland Security, Trump again noted that the suspect was Afghan.