PESHAWAR, Pakistan — A US embassy employee was briefly detained at the airport in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar on Tuesday after police reportedly found bullets in his luggage.
The American was about to travel from Peshawar to Islamabad, the nation’s capital, when he was seized. He was carrying bullets for a 9mm pistol, Pakistan Today reported.
He was briefly held for questioning by the Airport Security Force and then released once his diplomatic status was confirmed, the Express Tribune reported.
A US official confirmed the incident and said the US was in contact with Pakistani authorities about the details of the case.
“We can confirm that the individual is an embassy employee who was serving temporarily in the US consulate [in] Peshawar,” the official told NewsCore. “The employee has diplomatic status.”
A photo apparently showing his passport posted by Dawn.com indicated his name was Charles Arthur Williams.
The US official would not confirm the identity.
The incident comes more than a year after CIA contractor Raymond Davis was arrested over the shooting deaths of two men in Lahore in January 2011.
Davis — who claimed he acted in self-defense against supposed armed robbers — was arrested and charged with murder. He was freed by a Pakistani court in March, with initial reports saying an agreement to pay monetary compensation to the dead men’s families was reached.
It was not confirmed whether the payment — if any — was made privately. US secretary of state Hillary Clinton later said that Davis’ release did not involve the US government paying compensation.