American diplomat allowed to leave Pak on US assurance: FO

Pakistan today said a senior US diplomat, who killed a motorcyclist in a road accident here, was allowed to leave the country as he had diplomatic immunity and also the Trump administration gave assurance that he would be tried in an American court.

Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisalalso also said that restrictions on diplomats of both Pakistan and the US have now been in place and diplomats and their families will have to seek prior permission to travel outside the radius of 25 miles.

Defence attache Colonel Joseph Hall left the country on May 14 after Washington assured Islamabad that he would be tried under US laws.

Pakistan had earlier sent back an American plane, delaying the return of Hall to the US amidst the controversy over his immunity from prosecution.

Hall had killed a 22-year-old motorcyclist and injured another on April 7 in Islamabad after jumping a red signal.

He was let go by the Islamabad police in line with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961 which gives diplomat immunity from criminal prosecution. However, a first information report of the incident was registered.

The incident increased political tension between the two countries.

Relations between Washington and Islamabad have been strained since US President Donald Trump accused Pakistan of "lies and deceit" and criticised Islamabad for providing safe havens to terror groups.