A Pakistani court has directed the government to take action against diplomats found involved in illegal activities at a time when there is growing concern in the country about reports of the presence of private security contractors like Blackwater.
Responding to a petition about the alleged presence and illegal activities of Blackwater and Dutch nationals in Pakistan, Lahore high court chief justice Khwaja Muhammad Sharif yesterday said courts will not spare any person violating the laws of the country.
The petition was filed by the Watan Party Pakistan through Hashim Shaukat Khan, the president of the party's Punjab chapter.
Chief Justice Sharif disposed of the petition with directions to the government to take action against foreigners found involved in illegal activities or found travelling in vehicles with fake registration plates.
Interior secretary Qamaruz Zaman told the court that the government is taking action against diplomats who violate the laws of the land.
He said an official of the US embassy was deported for violating the law and misbehaving with a police official in Islamabad.
However, an officer of the foreign office told the judge that the government could not take action against diplomats as they enjoyed diplomatic immunity.
He said two security guards of the Dutch embassy were arrested in Islamabad, but were later released after the intervention of the Dutch ambassador in October.
The petitioner's council Zafarullah Khan said American and Dutch nationals were roaming the streets of Islamabad with sophisticated weapons and harassing local residents and police personnel.
He said even under Article 29 of the Vienna Convention, diplomats did not enjoy any immunity for criminal activities.
Khan contended that the Inter Services Intelligence agency chief had brought to the notice of the CIA chief, during his visit to Pakistan last month, the point that the US intelligence agency was involved in terrorist activities in the country.
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