Mateen’s father a political commentator

WASHINGTON : The Afghan-born father of Omar Mateen, the man police identified as the gunman who killed 49 people at a packed gay nightclub in Florida on Sunday,

WASHINGTON : The Afghan-born father of Omar Mateen, the man police identified as the gunman who killed 49 people at a packed gay nightclub in Florida on Sunday, is a fringe political commentator who rails against Pakistan and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

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Seddique Mateen, who, public records indicate is the father of Omar Mateen, had an occasional television show on a US-based Afghan satellite channel for about three years, and has continued to post political commentaries on his Facebook page as recently as Sunday.

He broadcast a show called “Durand Jirga,” which focused in part on the disputed Durand Line. He said his son’s rampage had “nothing to do with religion”.