Pak authorities bar US envoy involved in road accident from leaving country

Islamabad: Pakistani authorities have barred a US diplomat, involved in a road accident that killed a motorcyclist in the capital Islamabad, from leaving the country.

Two security officials said on Saturday that the plane at Nur Khan air base arriving to carry US military attaché Col. Joseph Emanuel Hall out of Pakistan has returned after he failed to get clearance. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to brief reporters.

The US embassy and Pakistan’s foreign office declined to comment.

Hall is accused of running a red light and killing one Ateeq Baig on April 7.

Islamabad’s high court, noting that Hall did not have full diplomatic immunity, had directed the government to decide whether to add his name to a travel ban list.