The Islamabad police on Tuesday arrested the officer responsible for the security of United States diplomat Colonel Joseph Emanuel Hall – who killed a 22-year-old while jumping traffic signals in Islamabad.
According to sources, the officer, Taimur Peerzada, is an employee of the Foreign Office. Accused for aiding the US defence and air attache in running away, he was taken into custody on the directives of assistant inspector-general (AIG). Arrest warrants for security staff suspected of helping Hall have also been issued.
Earlier this month, a fast-moving Land Cruiser, driven by Col Hall, jumped the red light and hit a motorcycle carrying two men at the intersection of Margalla Road and 7th Avenue in Islamabad. One of the men, Ateeq Mir, died on the spot while the other, Raheel Ahmed, got injured.
Soon after the accident, an on-duty traffic police official alerted the police. The US diplomat and his car were taken to the nearby Kohsar Police Station in Islamabad’s F-7 area where he presented his diplomatic card issued by the Foreign Office as well as his driving licence.
An FIR has been lodged against the diplomat on the complaint of the victims’ families. Hall has been booked for unintentional murder through rash driving.
The victim’s father filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court requesting to direct the IGP, the chief commissioner and the SHO to ensure that fair and transparent investigation is conducted with regard to the allegations in the FIR to arrest the accused person unless they are satisfied that the arrest is not necessary.
The deceased, Ateeq Baig, hailed from Talhar village in the Margalla Hills and worked part time at a hotel in the Blue Area while his father is a security guard at a government school in Saidpur village.
