US diplomat leaves Pakistan amid uproar over fatal accident

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has allowed a US diplomat involved in a fatal traffic accident to leave the country, an official said on Tuesday, following a weeks-long stand-off and street protests over the incident.

The diplomat — described as the defence attache in an earlier report — departed Islamabad late Monday, a senior Pakistani government official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

“The US diplomat has been allowed to return to the US in light of the High Court’s decision that he had diplomatic immunity,” the official said.

A US State Department spokesperson also confirmed to AFP that “the American diplomat who was involved in a tragic car accident on April 7 in Islamabad has departed Pakistan”.

A sports utility vehicle in which the diplomat was travelling was in collision with a motorcyclist and his passenger at an intersection in Pakistan’s capital last month. Atiq Baig, 22, died of head injuries while his cousin, who was the passenger, was injured.