Advisor Asif Mahmud clarified that carrying a magazine (ammunition) in his bag while en route to a Morocco-bound flight was an honest mistake. He said he had packed in a hurry and forgot to remove it after already securing other firearm parts at home. “As a licensed firearm holder, I carry for security purposes after surviving multiple assassination attempts,” he stated. “If I had ill intent, I wouldn’t have left the weapon behind.” He denied pressuring media to drop the story, calling such allegations "completely false."