‘Loaded’ luggage: Court releases detained US official

ISLAMABAD: A security trainer at the US Embassy was arrested by the police at Benazir Bhutto International Airport on Friday morning and later released on bail by a local court. The Airport Security Force (ASF) recovered 15 bullets and one magazine of a 9mm pistol from William Jones while checking his luggage, said Airport police Station House Officer Musaddaq Hussain.Police said Jones is an American citizen and works as a trainer for the security staff at the American Embassy. The police said the official was planning to travel to the US via Abu Dhabi but was stopped at the airport and handed over to the police. “The US official was set to travel by Etihad flight EY-232 from Islamabad to Abu Dhabi but he was taken into custody,” said Hussain. The police registered a case against him under sections 13, 20 and 65 of the Pakistan Penal Code and produced him before a court. The court grated him bail on the personal guarantee of a Pakistani employee of the US Embassy.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 19^th, 2014.