INP
RAWALPINDI - A US Army major was stopped from boarding a flight on the charge of having a magazine loaded with 15 bullets at Benazir Bhutto Islamabad International Airport (BBIIAP) on Friday.
The police, after filing a case against the US major, presented him before an area magistrate who awarded bail to the accused against a surety bond of Rs 30,000.
According to details, US Army Major William John reached BBIIAP to catch an Emirates airline flight to reach America via Abu Dhabi. On suspicion, the ASF took him to a scanning counter where they recovered from his possession 15 rounds loaded in a magazine and held him on the spot.  Soon after the arrest, the US Emabassy’s senior officials came into action and started jolting the ASF high-ups who, sensing the sensitivity of the issue, called the airport police officials. The police registered a case against the major on the application of ASF.
A police official who was investigating the case told The Nation that during investigation it was found that the detainee was serving in the US Army as a major and a trainer in the US Embassy in Islamabad.
On the other hand, the US Embassy big guns exerted pressure on the government and the police to release the detainee. Raja Babar, a Pakistani national and an employee of the US Embassy, was also given the task to arrange surety bond for the grant of bail to the accused. Bowing to the pressure, the police presented the accused before Magistrate Qaisar Hussain Maral who granted bail to Major John William against the surety bond of Rs 30,000. After the grant of bail, the major went to the US Embassy instead of flying to the US.
Earlier, in May this year, US citizen Joel Cox was arrested from Jinnah International Airport Karachi for carrying bullets and a knife. Cox, later, turned out to be an FBI agent and was released for having diplomatic immunity.
In 2011, a CIA contractor Raymond Davis was held and charged with killing two men. Davis said he believed they were trying to rob him.
The case inflamed anti-American sentiments and Davis was freed after the United States agreed to compensate the families of the two men.
It may be noted here that security has already been beefed up across all major points including airports all over the country in view of the security threat.