Key Points
- Afghan national identified as suspect in Wednesday’s deadly assault.
- UNHCR says refugees overwhelmingly remain law-abiding community members.
- Two National Guardsmen shot; one killed, one critically injured.
ISLAMABAD: United Nations agencies on Friday called on Washington to continue allowing asylum seekers into the United States and to ensure they receive due process, following a deadly shooting near the White House by an Afghan national, Reuters reports.
The attack on Wednesday prompted President Donald Trump to pledge a freeze on immigration from “Third World” countries. Investigators said the suspect, 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, entered the United States in 2021 under Operation Allies Welcome, a programme to resettle vulnerable Afghans after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Reacting to Trump’s remarks, Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office, told a Geneva press briefing: “They are entitled to protection under international law, and that should be given due process.”
Likewise, Eujin Byun, spokesperson for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), echoed those comments. “When people who need protection arrive in their territory, they have to have a due process of asylum. And then they have to have access to territory,” she said, emphasising that the overwhelming majority of refugees are law-abiding members of host communities. “So, we really want to appeal at this point to the states who are hosting refugees and asylum seekers,” Byun added.
On Wednesday, two US National Guard members were shot near the White House. One later died, while the other was critically injured. The suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, was wounded by responding guardsmen and arrested at the scene. He was granted asylum in April 2025.
