US and Pakistan remove travel restrictions placed on diplomats from both the countries
Both US and Pakistan had barred diplomats last year from travelling without permission
Dubai: The United States on Wednesday announced it has removed travel restrictions placed on Pakistani diplomats based in the United States.
Last year, Washington had barred Pakistani diplomats from travelling within the country without seeking permission from relevant authorities in the State Department.
The State Department has confirmed that travel restrictions on Pakistani diplomatic personnel assigned to Pakistan’s Embassy in Washington DC and their dependents were being removed, says Geo news.
The State Department further said the government of Pakistan has also reciprocated with a similar measure in relation to its diplomatic personnel assigned to its Embassy and Consulates in Pakistan.
“Both sides are committed to a renewed effort to remove impediments on our respective diplomatic missions in line with international norms,” it said.
In May last year, Pakistan and US had imposed movement limitations on their diplomatic staff. Pakistani diplomats were asked not to travel outside of a 25-mile radius around the city without approval.
The Trumpe Administration had imposed these restrictions on Pakistani diplomats in the United States on May 10, 2018 and on May 11, Islamabad imposed similar restrictions on US diplomats in Pakistan.
Under the US restrictions, Pakistani diplomats were banned from moving further than 25 miles from the cities in which they were posted. They were also required to seek permission from the State Department five days in advance if they planned to visit another city.
The Pakistani restrictions also confined US diplomats to certain areas within the city they worked and lived in. Pakistan also withdrew special treatments given to US diplomats at Pakistani airports.
American diplomats were barred from using tinted glass on their vehicles or having diplomatic registration plates on private vehicles. Before renting property, American diplomats were required to obtain a no-objection certificate from Pakistan’s interior ministry.
Diplomatic tensions between the United States and Pakistan heightened in April 2018 when a US diplomat Joseph Emmanuel Hall ran a red light in Islamabad, killing a motorcyclist and injuring a passenger.