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‘Diplomatic immunity’: US diplomat set free after six hours of detention
William Charles held for possession of a magazine, bullets.
William Charles held for possession of a magazine, bullets.
PESHAWAR: An American national was set free on Tuesday after six hours of detention in a Peshawar police station for possessing a magazine and bullets in his luggage.
The man, held by the Airport Security Force (ASF) at the Bacha Khan International Airport, was later identified as a US diplomat and freed because he enjoyed diplomatic immunity, police said.
Sources within the ASF revealed that the US citizen William Arthur Charles – who was scheduled to fly from Peshawar to Islamabad – was held for carrying seventeen rounds of ammunition in his luggage and was handed over to the police.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Tahir Ayyub confirmed the reports and said: “The diplomat was leaving for Islamabad from Peshawar but was detained by the ASF when around 16-17 nine mm bullets were recovered from his luggage”.
The US diplomat was later shifted to Police Station West where officers of the foreign office and US Consulate were also contacted to certify the diplomatic status of the man in custody.
Talking to The Express Tribune, Cantt Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Shabihul Hassain said: “Law does not allow arresting a diplomat. And since the US citizen possessed a diplomatic passport he enjoyed diplomatic immunity.”
The ASP said officers of the foreign ministry and US Consulate confirmed the diplomatic status of the man, so he was set free.
When contacted, spokesperson for the US Embassy informed The Express Tribune that the US diplomat was an employee of the US Embassy and was temporarily working in Peshawar.
“We are in close contact with the Pakistani officials about details of this case,” the spokesperson said.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 15th, 2012.
Reader Comments (30)
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Another CIA/JSOC agent on the lose. Why would any American be in Peshawar? And please don’t us by saying distributing US AID.
He probably forgot to discard all his ammo after his target killing assignment in KPK.
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US undercover agents are giving funds and targets to terrorists to weaken Pakistan,for easy opportunities to dictate and interface ..
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@Basit:
Was this person about to start a war with a few bullets in his baggage? Give me a break !!
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NWe should exchange him for Dr Afia
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They still think that Pakistani’s wont understand their tricks. They often repeat such flares to test waters inside out Pakistani airports, railway stattions or they would hit people on motorbikes to check the vulnerability of Pakistani people and dromant sleeping agencies. They know it well, that they will get covered under diplomatic immunity or a telephone call.
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@Usman Ali:
Do you have any evidence of this? Also all terrorists seems to be of religious background; why would they take money from kuffar anyway?
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Oh, we can only Howl! Remember Raymond Davis! Who in this world respects us?
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@Umer: The war in Afghanistan against Russia was also funded by the same kuffar
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@Ashanti
You guys love to post but without a single dime of common sense.
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He was going to throw them at people. Run. It’s easy to see why it would raise an eyebrow or two. But a person with bullets is not dangerous. They’re not even hard to come by. It’s the guns that are cause for concern. That’s why you don’t need a license to carry bullets. If I was going to Pakistan I’d probably register a firearm before I left just in case and I’d certainly be thorough when it came to anything to do with the gun itself. But I’d easily have the chance to be absent-minded about the bullets. Especially if they were separated.
…or can any of you actually say with a straight face that a non-Muslim doesn’t have even slight reason to be worried to such an extent in Pakistan? Don’t even give the “just don’t go there” crap. Jobs take people places. Recall every one of your nationals outside your country before you even whisper it.
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Good business opportunity
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@Ashanti: Obviously, the Americans have not played hanky-panky in your country. So you look upon them as persons with “halos” over their heads. Or, patron saints? Have a nice day.
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why he was not put in Jail???
If a Pakistani is caught in USA will he be sent to Pakistani embassy???
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@the Skunk: Neither. All I am advocating is a little perspective.
In a few months we’ll have the naysayers out in force against US aid – that is after the aid has been consumed and digested ! Well, the US congress just passed a $2.5 billion aid to Pakistan yesterday. Why isn’t Difa-e-Pakistan objecting to it today?
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In civilized societies, it is considered near-taboo to take advantage of someone in deep distress. Nations do take advantage of other nations’ hour of need for their own strategic objectives but taking advantage of a nation devastated by an earthquake is nothing short of strategic callousness. As if the episode of Dr Shakeel Afridi was not enough, it has now been revealed that the US used Pakistan’s 2005 earthquake to send intelligence operatives into the country. U.S. intelligence community took advantage of the chaos to spread resources of its own into the country. Using valid U.S. passports and posing as construction and aid workers, dozens of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operatives and contractors flooded in without the requisite background checks from the country’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency. Read more at: Strategic callousness
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“Diplomat” lol the person is clearly a spy so why call him a diplomat?
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@Political Analyst: Well this one is not!!!!!!!!!! Rather ALL are united against the ex-freedom fighters & current terrorirts still lossing…sending agents like raymond davis….. holding women in their torture centers…….If Afghan Jihad against russians was US supported so were these terrorists……..The year was 1985. In the heat of the CIA-backed Afghan jihad against the Soviet Union, a delegation of Afghan resistance leaders met with US President Ronald Reagan in the White House, where they were declared the “moral equivalent” to the founding fathers of the United States.
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, who reportedly receivied a hefty share of the roughly $200m that the CIA funnelled annually to Afghan guerrillas for defeating the invading Red Army is now fighting the US. His rhetorical command is apparent, as in this excerpt in one of his letters: “We need to show the Americans that our patience is high, our stamina is strong, and that we can travel the dark nights. That if you can fight in foreign lands, how can we not fight in our own country? If your mercenary soldiers come from thousands of miles away to fight in our narrow valleys, is our back broken not to defend our homeland? You fight for my imprisonment, and I fight for my freedom.”
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stupid spy
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In america if you have bullets on you its as dangerous as having the gun, according to the laws there, and a person is liable to be deported just to be in possession of them.
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It sounds like the diplomat was a courier and thus permitted to openly carry weapons and ammunition. If so, Pakistani detention of this man was a violation of international law.
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So American diplomats carry bullets? surely he is a spy and a stupid one.
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@Umer:
Please wake up. JSOC/CIA operatives aren’t in the country for fighting taliban or al qaeda. They have money and they can choose to fund anyone they like to get information or conduct operations.
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@Solomon2:
Sorry Solomon, you can’t keep defending your rogue CIA/JSOC agents forever now.
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@Basit:
feel pity for guys like u
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@Political Analyst:
n who participated in that holy war…all our brothers from our brethren Muslim countries.. the great Muslim e umma
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@Basit: Sorry Basit, but international laws regarding diplomatic couriers are no secret.
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@Usman Ali:
US undercover agents are giving funds and targets to terrorists to weaken Pakistan,for easy opportunities to dictate and interface ..
I had assumed that according to the bilateral agreement, funds were given to people much much higher in the food chain. You can’t call a helpful government, “terrorists”.Recommend
@Basit: aren’t you in the least curious why no one in the Pakistani media picked up on this? Obviously a diplomat who is publicly embarrassed that he left his gun at home is somebody who is supposed to be carrying it!
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and this agent was stupid enough to carry a gun into a airport!!!
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@Umer:
@Ashanti:Check this link for proof!
http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=12470&Cat=13
Pentagon used 2005 quake to send spies to Pakistan
Excrept……….”D.B Grady and Marc Ambinder, in their newly-published e-Book ‘The Command: Deep Inside the President’s Secret Army’, write that the JSOC have proven to be the most lethal weapon in the US president’s arsenal”
They can’t be our friends, already told to us by QURAN!
WAKE UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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