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‘Drunk’ American diplomat kills sole breadwinner of family

  • Officials say US Embassy’s Defence and Air Attache Col Joseph Emmanuel was under influence, fled after scuffle with cops
  • 22-year-old Ateeq worked at a local restaurant to support his three brothers and a sister

ISLAMABAD: A local resident was reportedly killed and another injured after a vehicle belonging to the US Embassy in Islamabad rammed into a motorcycle on Saturday.


According to details, the accident occurred in the Daman-e-Koh area of the capital in the afternoon when the defence and air attache Col Joseph Emanuel’s vehicle, bearing no. QM-058 (64-48) hit the bike bearing no. ARM-900. The impact of the accident killed Muhammad Ateeq Baig, son of Muhammad Idrees on the spot, while his cousin Raheel, son of Changez, was injured.

According to police sources, the envoy was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident.

The police couldn’t arrest the diplomat since he enjoyed diplomatic immunity; however, the vehicle was impounded at Kohsar Police Station. Police sources said that Col Joseph Emanuel ran away from the police station after a scuffle with police officers.

Ateeq, 22-years-old, was working at a local restaurant to support his poor family, which included three brothers and a sister. He was reportedly going to his job near Islamabad Zoo when the diplomat hit his motorcycle.

The other rider, Raheel, was injured with broken legs. He was living without a family as his parents had passed away when he was just two-years-old.

Speaking to Pakistan Today, Ateeq’s father, Idrees, said that his son was providing financial support to the family. He said that no one from the government had contacted them about the incident, adding that the police were not cooperating with them either.

He further said that Ateeq was helping the family financially. He appealed to the chief justice of Pakistan and army chief to take notice of the incident and provide them justice.

Raheel Baig’s uncle also appealed to the chief justice and army chief to help the injured as he was an orphan with no one to support him.

Kohsar Police SHO Khalid Awan told Pakistan Today that no FIR was registered so far. “Police will take any further action when we receive an application from the victim’s family,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Office Spokesperson Dr Muhammad Faisal, in tweet, said, “An accident involving a US embassy vehicle occurred in Islamabad. MOFA is looking into the matter. Investigations are being carried out.”

Moreover, the US embassy in a statement confirmed the incident, saying that they were in contact with the local authorities.

A similar incident took place in 2011 when a US citizen and former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) spy Raymond Davis killed two Pakistani citizens in broad daylight in Lahore. After weeks of public pressure to remove Davis’ immunity from prosecution, a Pakistani court acquitted the spy of murder charges and released him after paying “blood money” to the victims’ families.

The spy was thereby exonerated of the charges and flown back to the US.

The writer is a member of the staff, Islamabad Bureau.

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