US halts all visa issuance to Afghan citizens

The US has halted all visa issuance for Afghan passport holders after an Afghan national, Rahmanullah Lakanwal—who arrived under the 2021 Operation Allies Welcome programme—shot dead a National Guard soldier near the White House. The FBI is probing the attack as terrorism.

Washington: The United States has paused Afghan visas, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, two days after a man from Afghanistan shot and killed one National Guard soldier and critically injured another near the White House.

“President (Donald) Trump’s State Department has paused visa issuance for all individuals travelling on Afghan passports,” Rubio wrote on the social platform X. “The United States has no higher priority than protecting our nation and our people.”

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“The Department of State has immediately paused visa issuance for individuals travelling on Afghan passports,” the agency said in a statement.

Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the 29-year-old suspected shooter, entered the United States in 2021 under the (Joe) Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome program. He applied for asylum last year, and it was granted earlier this year, reports Xinhua news agency.

Lakanwal was “clean on all checks” before working with the CIA in his home country and again before coming to the United States, local media reported.

The FBI is now investigating the shooting as an act of terrorism.

Lakanwal had previously served alongside US forces in Afghanistan.

According to NBC News, the suspect, identified as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, arrived in the United States in September 2021 after spending a decade in the Afghan army, where he supported US Special Forces.

He has been living in Washington state, NBC News reported, citing senior law enforcement sources.

Fox News reported that the suspect worked with various US government entities while in Afghanistan, including the Central Intelligence Agency, as a member of a partner force.

The attack took place at around 14:15 local time (1915 GMT) near the Farragut Square Metro Station, said a statement from Joint Task Force DC, which oversees the National Guard deployments to Washington. The suspect was shot by another Guard member and taken into custody, officials said.

Authorities are still working to confirm all details about the individual, who is currently hospitalised.