ISLAMABAD: The interior ministry on Tuesday informed the Islamabad High Court (IHC) that US defence and air attaché Col Joseph Emmanuel who allegedly killed a biker in a traffic accident in the federal capital has been blacklisted.
A bench of the high court was hearing a petition seeking to place the name of the US diplomat on the Exit Control List (ECL). The ministry submitted a report to the bench in response to its notice, stating that Col Joseph has been blacklisted in a case pertaining to the death of 22-year-old Ateeq Baig.
To a query, state counsel Raja Khalid informed that the US diplomat cannot travel after being blacklisted. Travel restrictions for a person placed on the ECL or blacklisted are similar, he added.
The court asked the federal law officer to explain whether Col Joseph will be tried or punished under Pakistani or US laws? What does Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations say about this, questioned the judge.
He directed the ministries of the interior, law and foreign affairs to submit their respective reports, answering the queries of the court on next hearing. The hearing was adjourned for 10 days.
Twenty-two year old Ateeq Baig was killed after being hit by the vehicle of the US diplomat near Daman-e-Koh Chowk in the federal capital on April 7.
The father of the deceased petitioned the high court, requesting it to impose travel ban on the US defense and air attaché Col Joseph Emanuel Hall.
In his petition, he claimed the police registered a FIR of the accident under pressure from media, but were not seriously following the case. He pleaded with the court to order the police to carry out a fair probe into his son’s death in the road mishap and send the diplomat behind bars.
An FIR was registered against defense and air attaché Col Joseph Emanuel Hall of US embassy after he hit two motorcyclists at Daman-e-Koh intersection of Islamabad. Due to his diplomatic immunity, the Colonel was not detained, but now the police are proceeding to get his local driving license revoked.
The police had sent a letter to the Ministry of Interior requesting them to include Mr. Hall’s name in the Exit Control List (ECL). Followed by a letter to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to place the US diplomat’s name on its watch-list. INP
