QUETTA: Police have refused to release employees of the US consulate in Karachi till completion of investigation and determining the motive of their visit to Turbat and Gwadar.
The consulate’s deputy security officer Ghulam Gilani, driver Muzaffar Ali Shah and their guard were arrested on Wednesday night when they were travelling in a vehicle with a fake number plate.
Sources said that after initial investigation police allowed them to make a phone call to inform their superiors about their detention. “The three employees are still in police custody for interrogation,” a senior official of the provincial government told Dawn on Friday.
He said the federal government and the Foreign Office had been informed about the case. The sources said that a case had been registered against them under section 468, 471 and 109. They said the excise department had confirmed that the number-plate on the US consulate vehicle was fake.
The sources also said the consulate employees had not taken prior permission from the competent authorities for their visit to Gwadar and Turbat that was required of diplomats and staff of foreign missions for visiting any area in the country.
The sources said that although the employees were Pakistanis, they were working for a foreign mission and travelling in the consulate’s official vehicle with fake number plate.
“Till they clarify the purpose of their visit to Turbat and Gwadar without seeking permission from the authorities concerned they will not be released,” said the official. He said that the employees had not informed even the Foreign Office about the visit.
He said the US consulate had been informed that till the completion of investigation the employees would remain in detention.
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