*ISLAMABAD: *Pakistan has barred an American diplomat from leaving thecountry, the latest escalation in a tense bilateral dispute stemming from afatal traffic incident in early April. The diplomat, a U.S. militaryattache, allegedly ran a red light while driving an SUV in the capital andhit a motorcycle, killing the driver and injuring a passenger.

The father of the dead motorcyclist, identified as Ateeq Baig, 22, soughtto have Col. Joseph Emanuel Hall arrested and brought to trial before theIslamabad high court, but U.S. officials said he could not be arrested ortried, because of diplomatic immunity.

There were reports in Pakistani media that Hall was drunk, but the U.S.Embassy denied them. Hall remains at the embassy and has made no publicstatements.

Pakistan’s deputy attorney general, Raja Khalid Mehmood, appeared beforethe court Tuesday and agreed that Hall cannot be tried, because of hisdiplomatic status, but he said Hall has been put on a travel “black list”by the Interior Ministry and that authorities at all airports have beenalerted not to allow him to leave.

The incident came at an especially tense point in relations between theUnited States and Pakistan, which have been uneasy allies for decades. TheTrump administration has accused Pakistan of sheltering Islamist insurgentsalong the border with Afghanistan, and it recently suspended most militaryaid as a result. Pakistan has repeatedly denied the charges.

The fatal accident also recalled a far more serious case in 2011 in whichan American intelligence contractor, Raymond Davis, shot and killed twoarmed Pakistani men on a motorcycle while he was surreptitiously takingphotographs in Lahore city. An associate of Davis hit and killed a thirdman while speeding to the scene.

In that case, U.S. officials claimed Davis had diplomatic immunity becausehe was employed at the U.S. Consulate, but Pakistani officials arrested andcharged him with two slayings. Eventually he was acquitted and releasedafter the families of the two slain men were paid more than $2 million incompensation under Pakistani custom.

But the incident led to anti-American protests and deepened a chill in tiesbetween the two countries despite their ongoing cooperation in the war onterrorism. The relationship never recovered, and mutual grievances havebecome much more pronounced with President Trump in office.

After the fatal accident this month, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry called inU.S. Ambassador David Hale to lodge a formal protest, and authorities latersaid they would limit the travel range and freedom of American diplomats inthe capital. In response, U.S. officials informed Pakistan that after May1, its diplomats would need special permission to travel beyond a certaindistance from Washington.

On Monday, the State Department’s top official for South and Central Asia,Alice Wells, visited Islamabad to discuss a variety of issues, includingthe Hall case, a Pakistani official said. There were no official commentsfrom either side on the substance of the talks.

There were unconfirmed media reports that Pakistani officials had asked fora waiver of Hall’s diplomatic immunity so he can be tried in Pakistan,after which the case could potentially be resolved through compensation, asin the Davis case.

“I believe efforts are underway to resolve this issue soon,” said RasulBakhsh Rais, a political analyst in Lahore. U.S. officials “don’t want thismatter to linger on,” he said. “If it is not settled, it will bringrelations under more stress and add to anti-American sentiments here.”Washington Post