Pakistan blocks departure of accused U.S. diplomat

ISLAMABAD — Just over one month ago, Col. Joseph E. Hall, a military attaché at the U.S. embassy here, was involved in a car crash in the capital that took the life of a 22-year-old man driving a motorcycle and seriously injured a passenger riding on the back.

On Saturday, following weeks of diplomatic and legal wrangling over Hall’s diplomatic immunity, Pakistani officials prevented him from boarding an American military plane and leaving the country, according to Pakistani diplomats and media reports.

The incident at a military airfield near the capital, which was followed breathlessly on live TV here, was the latest dramatic twist in a bilateral dispute that has raised anti-American sentiment among Pakistanis and reflects the hardening relationship between two long-term security allies that are increasingly at odds on major issues.

The C-130 cargo plane from Bagram air base in Afghanistan landed here in the morning, and Hall was reportedly driven to the airfield to board it. But after Pakistani security officials there realized who he was, he was not granted permission to leave, according to these reports. The plane returned to Bagram, and Hall returned to the embassy.

Embassy officials declined to comment Sunday, citing the “sensitivity” of the situation. There was also no comment from the State Department in Washington. Pakistan has formally asked U.S. officials to withdraw Hall’s diplomatic immunity, but the matter is being reviewed by Pakistani courts, and there has been no official resolution.