US citizen briefly arrested for carrying weapon at Islamabad airport

William Jones released after senior official of US Embassy pays his bail.

ISLAMABAD: A United States citizen was briefly arrested at Islamabad airport on Friday for attempting to board a plane carrying a pistol and 15 bullets, Express News reported.

William Jones, who was identified by police and airport officials as a US security trainer, was planning to travel to America via Abu Dhabi when he was taken into custody.

Muhammad Fayaz, a police officer deputed at the airport, said: "The Airport Security Force (ASF) has handed over to us a US national after recovering a magazine and 15 bullets from him.

"The bullets and magazine were discovered through a scanning machine."

An airport security official told AFP that the man was set to travel by Etihad flight EY-232 from Islamabad to Abu Dhabi and onward to the United States.

"He is residing in the US embassy as a security trainer," the official said.

After his arrest, Jones was sent to the airport police station where a First Information Report (FIR) was lodged, Express News reported.

Jones was released on Friday afternoon after a senior official of the US Embassy paid his bail, which was granted by a local court.

"Judge Qaiser Hussain released the detained US national on personal guarantee of a Pakistani employee of the US embassy," Musaddaq Hussain, Station House Officer (SHO) of the airport police station, told AFP.

A spokesperson for the US embassy was not immediately able to provide confirmation of the arrest.

On May 5, a Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) agent, Joel Cox, was arrested at Jinnah International Airport in Karachi for carrying 15 bullets of 9mm caliber and a pistol clip in his baggage. The case was later dismissed by a court on May 19, after police failed to present evidence.