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US diplomats in Islamabad armed and dangerous

By Baqir Sajjad Syed & Munawer Azeem 

Taking safety into their own hands, diplomats have begun carrying weapons within Islamabad’s Red Zone — AFP/File photo.
ISLAMABAD: In a very unusual and risky move theUnited States diplomats based in Islamabad have started carrying guns while moving around on the pretext of self protection.

The development which may prove to be embarrassing for the Pakistan government was revealed when several US diplomats were intercepted by Islamabad police, but were let off because of diplomatic immunity.

The police in view of the increasing number of such incidents have sought a ‘clear policy’ from the Ministry of Interior for dealing with them.

In one of the recent most incidents a US diplomat was spotted carrying a loaded pistol in front of Serena Hotel located in the capital’s high security Red Zone.

In another incident on June 22 three other diplomats were caught with assault guns in their vehicle while returning from Peshawar. The vehicle bearing a fake license plate was stopped by the police at Khyber Checkpoint in G-9 and the arms were recovered during the search of the vehicle.

The diplomats are normally required to get authorization from the Ministry of Interior while moving out of Islamabad and sources say these diplomats had traveled to Peshawarwithout any intimation.

Police officials confirmed the incidents, but asked not to be named. The Foreign Office is also in knowledge of this practice.

Sources further say the police had earlier this month got hold of some other US diplomats near the Super Market for possessing weapons. However, details of the Super Market incident could not be verified.

In each of these incidents the security personnel of the US embassy immediately rushed to the places where these diplomats were caught and the search was allowed in their presence.

Senior officer at the Foreign Office said possession of arms by diplomats require explicit approval by the host government, which is responsible for their security. However, he wasn’t sure, if the US embassy had been granted such authorization or if the Americans ever requested for it.

But, the official said it was certainly a case of abuse of diplomatic immunity, which did not allow diplomats under any circumstances to carry arms.

Police officials in their background discussions also insisted that it was an illegal practice, but they were helpless in stopping it.

US Embassy Spokesman Lou Fintor was contacted on his cell phone for comments, but he could not be reached.