ISLAMABAD: US diplomat Col. Joseph Emanuel Hall, who was initially barred from leaving Pakistan after his involvement in a fatal traffic collision, left the country on Monday evening, a US Embassy official told Arab News.
“We can confirm that the American diplomat who was involved in a tragic accident on April 7 in Islamabad has departed Pakistan,” US Embassy spokesperson Richard Snelsire said.
Hall, a US Defense and Air Attache, had violated two traffic light offenses on the afternoon of April 7, ramming two motorcyclists with his white armored SUV in Islamabad.
Motorcyclist, Ateeq Baig, was killed and his pillion rider, Raheel Ahmed, sustained serious injuries, according to police officials who impounded his vehicle. Hall could not be arrested due to his diplomatic status.
There were no details on how the matter was eventually resolved, but the incident has strained ties between the US and Pakistan.
An attempt to bring the diplomat home over the weekend failed. According to military sources, the US had sent a C-130 aircraft from Bagram, Afghanistan to take the colonel home.
“Eight members from the US Embassy, including officials from the US air force, came to the [Nur Khan] Airbase with US Defense and Air Attache Col. Joseph Emanuel Hall’s passport and luggage but after [verifying his travel document], the FIA [Federal Investigation Agency] informed the US officials that Col. Hall was on the block list and, hence, barred him from leaving the country,” they told Arab News.
A court ruling had earlier declared that Hall did not enjoy “absolute immunity” from criminal prosecution in the traffic violation and fatal accident, ordering the authorities to decide in two weeks whether his name could be placed on the exit control list (ECL).
The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961, which was endorsed by Pakistan under the 1972 Diplomatic and Consular Privileges Act, ensures that serving diplomats are not subject to lawsuits and prosecution under the legal framework of the host country. Pakistan is a signatory to the Vienna Convention.
Dr. Mohammad Faisal, a spokesman for the Foreign Office, had also pointed out that under the articles dealing with diplomatic immunity in the Vienna Convention, the possibility of holding Hall in Pakistan for criminal proceedings was unlikely.
Hall’s diplomatic status card, issued by the Foreign Office, is due to expire on May 31.
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US diplomat involved in fatal collision leaves Pakistan
US diplomat involved in fatal collision leaves Pakistan
- “We can confirm that the American diplomat who was involved in a tragic accident on April 7 in Islamabad has departed Pakistan,” US Embassy spokesperson Richard Snelsire said
- Col. Joseph Emanuel Hall had killed a young Pakistani in a road accident after he jumped a red light while driving in Islamabad last month
Discussions with Board of Peace ‘on hold’ due to Iran war, Indonesia says
JAKARTA: Indonesia’s foreign minister said talks on US President Donald Trump’s Gaza “Board of Peace,” of which the Southeast Asian nation is a key troop-contributing member, were on hold due to the Middle East war.
The US and Israeli air war against Iran has killed scores of civilians, thrown global air transport into chaos and sent oil prices surging after the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
“All BoP discussions are on hold as all attention has shifted to the situation in Iran,” Minister Sugiono, who goes by one name, said late on Tuesday in response to a question on calls for Indonesia to exit the peace board in the aftermath of the fresh conflict in the Middle East.
“We will also consult with our friends and colleagues in the Gulf because they are also under attack,” Sugiono told reporters after attending an event alongside President Prabowo Subianto.
Indonesia’s participation on the board has drawn criticism from experts and Muslim groups at home, who say it compromises the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation’s longstanding support for the Palestinian cause.
Indonesia backs a two-state solution.
The Indonesian Ulema Council, a leading clerical body, said on March 1 that Indonesia should leave the board, citing Trump’s attack on Iran as rendering the initiative ineffective.
Meanwhile, Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia’s largest Muslim organization, said Jakarta should use its position to press Israel and the United States to halt the violence.
Trump first proposed the board in September when he unveiled a plan to end Israel’s war in Gaza, later expanding its remit to address other global conflicts typically handled by the United Nations.
Sugiono also said Prabowo is willing to be a mediator in the Iran war in a bid “to cool down and de-escalate the situation in the region.”
Indonesia is readying 1,000 troops for potential deployment in Gaza by early April as part of a proposed multinational peacekeeping force, its army said, as part of the UN-mandated International Stabilization Force. It has also been given the deputy commander role of the force.
The US and Israeli air war against Iran has killed scores of civilians, thrown global air transport into chaos and sent oil prices surging after the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
“All BoP discussions are on hold as all attention has shifted to the situation in Iran,” Minister Sugiono, who goes by one name, said late on Tuesday in response to a question on calls for Indonesia to exit the peace board in the aftermath of the fresh conflict in the Middle East.
“We will also consult with our friends and colleagues in the Gulf because they are also under attack,” Sugiono told reporters after attending an event alongside President Prabowo Subianto.
Indonesia’s participation on the board has drawn criticism from experts and Muslim groups at home, who say it compromises the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation’s longstanding support for the Palestinian cause.
Indonesia backs a two-state solution.
The Indonesian Ulema Council, a leading clerical body, said on March 1 that Indonesia should leave the board, citing Trump’s attack on Iran as rendering the initiative ineffective.
Meanwhile, Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia’s largest Muslim organization, said Jakarta should use its position to press Israel and the United States to halt the violence.
Trump first proposed the board in September when he unveiled a plan to end Israel’s war in Gaza, later expanding its remit to address other global conflicts typically handled by the United Nations.
Sugiono also said Prabowo is willing to be a mediator in the Iran war in a bid “to cool down and de-escalate the situation in the region.”
Indonesia is readying 1,000 troops for potential deployment in Gaza by early April as part of a proposed multinational peacekeeping force, its army said, as part of the UN-mandated International Stabilization Force. It has also been given the deputy commander role of the force.
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