Islamabad: Pakistan on Tuesday said it has placed the name of a US diplomat involved in a carcrash on it’s ‘blacklist’, therefore prohibiting the defence and air attaché from leaving the country.
The information was disclosed during a hearing at Islamabad High Court (IHC) after a petition was filed by the father of the deceased.
The American diplomat, Colonel Joseph Emanuel Hall, who rammed over a biker in Islamabad on April 7, has been ‘blacklisted’ and thus cannot leave the country, according to Deputy Attorney-General (DAG) Raja Khalid Mehmood.
However, the federal government informed the IHC that the diplomat cannot stand trial in Pakistan because of diplomatic immunity under the Vienna Convention.
The Vienna Convention assures immunity for any incidents involving diplomats that occur during the course of official duty, he said.
“A trial can only be held if the immunity is withdrawn,” the reply stated.
During the hearing, Mehmood said authorities in Pakistan could not arrest, detain or prosecute Joseph because of the diplomatic immunity.
However, the suspect could be investigated. Joseph can be prosecuted in Pakistan if the diplomatic immunity is recalled by the Americans, he said, adding that if the US decides to take up the case, the suspect could stand trial and/or court martial in his home country.
There were reports earlier that the diplomat’s name would be added to the Exit Control List (ECL) but it was not done as it was a lengthy process. The blacklist serves the same purpose with a simpler process, DAG Mehmood explained.
The Islamabad High Court has also sought a response from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
On April 7, US military attaché Col Joseph Emanuel Hall crossed a red light and rammed his vehicle into a motorcycle in Islamabad, killing Pakistani Ateeq Beg and injuring his cousin. The US official escaped arrest due to diplomatic immunity but a first information report (FIR) was registered with Kohsar Police Station.
The victim’s father, Mohammad Idrees, filed a petition in the IHC seeking justice and requesting the court to direct the Islamabad police chief and the chief commissioner to ensure that fair and transparent investigation is conducted.
The judges observed that Islamabad police itself damaged the case by not conducting an alcohol test following the hit-and-run case.
The case of US defence and air attaché has instigated a diplomatic dispute between the two countries.
The United States also announced to place “reciprocal restrictions” on the movement of Pakistani diplomats in the country from May 1. US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon was reported as saying that the Trump Administration would place curbs on Pakistani diplomatic because Islamabad had “already imposed similar restrictions on US diplomats in Pakistan”.
In a related development, US Department of State’s Senior Bureau Official for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Ambassador Alice Wells made her second trip in less than a month and held meeting with Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua at the Foreign Office. However, the fresh round of talks between Pakistan and US ended in Islamabad on Monday without any breakthrough.
