Pakistan has right to bar US diplomat from leaving, says ex-envoy

US diplomat ID card. (Photo courtesy: social media)

• A US plane landed at an air base in Rawalpindi to transport Joseph Emanuel Hall
• Authorities refused him passage to board

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has every right to hold for “a reasonable period of time” a US diplomat who was involved in a fatal traffic collision until the facts can be ascertained by investigators and a court verdict is passed, said former Pakistani Ambassador Javed Hafiz.
On Saturday, a US aircraft landed at an air base in the city of Rawalpindi in an attempt to take Defense and Air Attache Col. Joseph Emanuel Hall out of Pakistan.
Hafiz told Arab News: “Pakistan isn’t breaking international law because Hall has been stopped only for the investigation to be completed. He hasn’t been arrested or brought before a local court. He enjoys full immunity from Pakistani law and detention.”
Shakeel Ahmed Durrani, director of Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), told Arab News that Hall “is on a block list,” so “there’s no question about him leaving.” Durrani said Hall never showed up at the air base, contrary to reports that he was present. 
“A US Embassy official came to the air base with the colonel’s travel documents. Once we ran the documents through our system and confirmed his name was on the provisional list, we informed the official that Hall wasn’t allowed to leave the country,” Durrani added.
The US Embassy declined to comment to Arab News, but Pakistan’s refusal to allow Hall to travel is likely to further strain ties between the two estranged allies.
Hall violated two traffic lights in Islamabad on April 7, and his vehicle hit two motorcyclists. Ateeq Baig was killed and Raheel Ahmed was seriously injured, according to police officials who were not authorized to arrest Hall due to his diplomatic status, but impounded his vehicle.
The Islamabad High Court on Friday ruled that Hall does not enjoy “absolute immunity” from criminal prosecution, and ordered authorities to decide within two weeks whether to place his name on a federal Exit Control List. 
Hall’s name is currently on the immigration directorate’s blacklist, which bars him from leaving Pakistan.
A US diplomat told Arab News on condition of anonymity that blocking Hall from travelling can be interpreted as him being a “hostage” of a state flouting international law. The diplomat warned of likely “reciprocity” from Washington.
Hafiz said: “In view of the case, the sensitivity of the bilateral relationship and diplomatic immunity, both governments should table talks and conclude the case quickly.” 
He added that Pakistan can only exercise its legal right to expel Hall or ask the US to revoke his immunity, a step that Washington is unlikely to take.
The 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, of which Pakistan is a signatory, shields serving diplomats from lawsuits and prosecution under the host country’s legal framework.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Dr. Mohammed Faisal said due to the convention, Hall is unlikely to face criminal proceedings.
Former Foreign Minister Salman Bashir concurred, saying Hall, “being a diplomat, enjoys immunity from local criminal jurisdiction.”