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| FBI Agent nick named Joel Cox walks out of police station after court released him |
Karachi: District Court Malir dismissed the case against an American FBI agent arrested this month for trying to board a domestic flight with ammunition in his baggage.
The Judge said that police has invoked the wrong section of the law. The police report was filed under 'C-class' which is generally known as a mistake of facts and police also failed to present evidence. The judge than ordered the cancellation of the FIR filed against American agent Joel Cox.
The judge also noted that, "No offence was alleged in the FIR against the accused, consequently a summary is therefore approved under C-class. FIR in question is directed to be cancelled under the provisions of Police Rules 1934."
The Court also ordered police to return all personal belongings to the accused, including the bullets and magazine confiscated after his arrest.
Defence counsel Zahid U.Jamil, during the hearing revealed that Cox was a law enforcer visiting Pakistan to train officials of local law enforcement agencies and he was authorized to carry weapons, which was endorsed by Sindh home department and the US embassy.
The Associated Press reported that the judge dismissed the case after police produced a letter from the Ministry of Interior attesting that the agent was allowed to carry a weapon while in Pakistan.
The lawyer of Cox in his argument said that, "The US embassy letter provided to police and home department was ratified and there was no need to obtain a license for that and hence section 231 (a) of Sindh Arms Act (SAA) 2013 was not violated by the accused.