Pakistan police free US man held at airport
Embassy worker who was carrying bullets in baggage released after consulate intervention
Peshawar: A US embassy employee was released after being held for questioning in Pakistan Tuesday when airport security officials discovered bullets in his luggage, police said.
The American was about to fly from the northwestern city of Peshawar to the capital Islamabad when he was taken into police custody, said Tahir Ayub, a senior police superintendent.
He was released after four hours when officials from the US consulate in Peshawar produced documents to show the man worked at the consulate.
"He's been released to the consulate," a US official in Islamabad said. "He's at the consulate now."
Embassy employee
The American, who is an embassy employee, is usually based in Islamabad but was temporarily assigned to the Peshawar consulate, the official said.
Police officers had earlier said they would hold the man until his identity had been verified by the foreign office in Islamabad and a US official in the capital had said the embassy was looking into the details of the reports.
"He has diplomatic status," the official said. "We're in contact with Pakistani authorities on the details on the case."
Pistol and 12 rounds
Ayub said a pistol and a magazine of 12 rounds had been recovered from the man's luggage, while another police officer said security officials had only found bullets.
The detention was likely to revive memories of Raymond Davis, an American CIA contractor who shot and killed two Pakistanis in the eastern city of Lahore in January 2011.
A third Pakistani died when he was hit by an embassy vehicle racing to extract Davis from the scene where an angry mob had gathered.
Compensation
After initial confusion, the US embassy in Islamabad said Davis had diplomatic immunity, which Pakistan refused to recognise. Davis spent almost two months in jail before being released after the payment of compensation to the families of the two men killed.
The incident was a major blow to the relationship between the US and Pakistan, a key ally in the terror war. Ties were just beginning to thaw when US commandos killed Osama Bin Laden in a Pakistani military town.
