ISLAMABAD: Pakistani authorities barred a US diplomat involved in a fataltraffic accident from leaving the country, forcing an American militaryaircraft flown in for his departure to leave without him, local mediareported.
The move came a day after Pakistan said it would restrict the movements ofall American diplomats in the country in response to Washington’s similarrestrictions on Pakistani embassy diplomats.
A spokesman for the US embassy in Islamabad declined to comment on themedia reports, and a US State Department spokesperson in Washington wouldneither confirm nor deny them.
“For the privacy and security of those involved, we cannot disclose thediplomat’s current location,” the State Department spokesperson said.
The latest blow to relations came on Saturday, when Pakistani authoritiesbanned US military attache Colonel Joseph Emanuel Hall from leaving.
A day earlier, an Islamabad court had ruled his diplomatic immunity may notapply in the April 7 traffic accident in which the US attache’s vehicle hita motorcycle, killing the 22-year-old driver.
As a result, a US Air Force C130 flown in to Pakistan’s Nur Khan air baseoutside Islamabad was forced to leave without him on Friday.
Separately, Pakistan’s foreign ministry said it would apply travelrestrictions to all U.S. diplomatic staff similar to those applied byWashington, according to a notification sent to the US Embassy on Fridayand obtained by Reuters.