Mohammad Jamil
In an interview with the Voice of America’s Uzbek service, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon said: “The United States would place ‘reciprocal restrictions’ on the movement of Pakistani diplomats in the country from May 1, because Islamabad had already imposed similar restrictions on US diplomats in Pakistan.” The Trump administration notified Pakistan recently that from May 1, diplomats at their embassy in Washington and at consulates in other cities would not be able to travel beyond 40km of their offices without permission. According to this notification, diplomats would need to apply for permission at least five days ahead of an intended travel outside the imposed 40km radius. US officials also reminded their Pakistani counterparts that Islamabad had already imposed similar restrictions on American diplomats in Pakistan, who were not allowed to visit the tribal belt or Karachi.
In the past some contractors and spies under the guise of US diplomats have been scouting around the sensitive areas of Pakistan, and caused damage to Pakistan’s assets. Therefore Pakistan has within its right to stop movements to such areas. However, Pakistan argues that those are not restrictions but security measures intended to protect American diplomats. They point out that the State Department too does not allow its diplomats in Pakistan to visit Fata, Karachi and certain other places in Pakistan for security concerns. In his interview to VOA, Mr Shannon also talked about the need for Pakistan to step up pressure on the militants who still had a presence in the country. The United States, he said, hoped to start a larger reconciliation process and wanted Pakistan to play a meaningful and important role in that process. “If so, it will open, I believe, the possibilities for deeper conversations especially with neighbours and especially with the Central Asian countries,” he added.
However fact of the matter is that US wants Pakistan to extend relief to Col. Joseph without any punishment in the case. US is restricting Pakistani officials to pressurize Pakistan, as Vienna or Geneva Convention bounds everyone to respect law of the land and US diplomats should also do the same. Pakistani authorities have reportedly told the United States that since Col. Joseph Emmanuel’s case is being heard by a court, he cannot be allowed to return home; and Pakistani authorities are reported to have informed Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Alice Wells. She reportedly told Pakistani authorities that the defence attaché had diplomatic immunity in accordance with the Vienna Convention and Pakistan should not take any action against him and allow him to travel back to the US. However our Foreign Office is in stupor, as some queer things have happened.
The question is why police had allowed Col. Joseph to go only after registration of the case but without his medical to ascertain whether he was drunk? Furthermore, on Tuesday, the federal government submitted its reply in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in a case involving the killing of a young man by US Defence Attache Col. Joseph Emmanuel in a traffic accident. Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Raja Khalid informed the court that the diplomat can neither be arrested nor tried. But one fails to understand that why the DAG asserted that the diplomat’s name is in the ‘black list’ according to which he cannot leave the country. He added that the Vienna Convention ensures immunity to any accident of diplomats occurring during official duty. “A trial can only be held if the immunity is withdrawn,” the reply stated further.
Islamabad High Court had taken exception to allowing Col. Joseph to go without alcohol test; and observed that diplomatic immunity doesn’t permit killing someone. It is said that a diplomat’s home country can waive the diplomatic immunity in particularly egregious cases. In 1997, Gueorgui Makharadze, formerly the second-highest-ranking diplomat at the Georgian Embassy in Washington, had his diplomatic immunity waived after he killed a Maryland teenager in a drunk-driving accident. Makharadze had gotten out of a drunk-driving charge later by claiming diplomatic immunity. He was sentenced to 21 years in prison and was later transferred to Georgia to finish his sentence. In March 2011, Raymond Davis, CIA contractor, a spy and a murderer, was arrested when he shot dead two Pakistanis in Lahore. He was allowed to leave the country after payment of deit to the families of those killed.
