Crash: US diplomat may face travel ban
islamabad — Pakistan’s Interior Ministry has started the process of putting a senior US diplomat, who was involved in a road accident here in which a motorcyclist was killed, on the Exit Control List (ECL), the media reported.
US Defence and Air Attache Col Joseph Emanuel Hall was driving a Land Cruiser and jumped a red signal on Saturday near Islamabad’s Daman-e-Koh Chowk.
He then hit a motorcycle carrying two men. The riders suffered injuries and later one of them — Atiq Baig — died.
Inspector-General of Police Sultan Azam Temuri said a written request was sent to the ministry on Monday seeking the name of the United States diplomat on the ECL,
online reported on Tuesday. The police informed the ministry that the diplomat was booked on criminal charges, including murder by mistake or rash or negligent driving.
The presence of the diplomat was necessary for investigation, according to the report.
Temuri said arrangements were made to prevent the diplomat from leaving the country.
The official had a valid licence issued by the Islamabad traffic police and the police were considering cancelling it, Temuri said.
The daily cited police officials as saying that a CCTV footage showed that the diplomat drove the white Land Cruiser at a high speed, violated the red signal and hit the motorcycle.
They said that the footage also showed that the diplomat neither applied the brake nor tried to save the motorcyclists.
Police officials said the diplomat had made an attempt to travel abroad on a Middle East-bound Qatar Airways flight on Sunday but left from the airport after seeing police officials there.
Pakistan had on Sunday summoned United States Ambassador David Hale and lodged a strong protest over the incident.
Earlier, the deceased’s family has demanded justice after the diplomat was not arrested as he enjoyed immunity under international laws.
Several people took to social media to protest against the favourable treatment given to the US diplomat. The police responded in a blog stating that they followed the due legal procedure and the attache had diplomatic immunity granted by the government of Pakistan as per Vienna Convention.
“If a blogger has objections on handing over of the diplomat to the embassy, he/she may approach the government of Pakistan to withdraw from Vienna Convention,” the blog posted by the Capital City police said.
The incident is being compared with the 2011 incident when a CIA contractor Raymond Davis was arrested in Lahore on charges of killing two Pakistani citizens. —
If a blogger has objections on handing over of the diplomat to the embassy, he/she may approach the government of Pakistan to withdraw from Vienna Convention Islamabad police