KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan’s arrest of an American FBI agent apparently won’t escalate into a diplomatic spat.
Officials say Pakistan has freed the American man on nearly $10,000 bail, three days after he was detained carrying knives and ammunition in his bag.
Pakistan and the U.S. have been uneasy allies since the 9/11 attacks, and the alliance has been strained over a series of incidents — including the unilateral U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden. But the arrest this week came amid warming relations between a new Pakistani government dependent on foreign aid, and a U.S. administration that needs Pakistan to help contain militants on the border with Afghanistan.
The FBI agent — identified by the bureau’s Miami field office as Joel Cox — arrived in Karachi a week ago. He was detained Monday after officials found him with the knives and ammunition as he was preparing to board a flight to Islamabad.
A law enforcement official has said the agent was in Pakistan as part of an anti-corruption program, and apparently didn’t realize he had bullets in his bag.
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APPHOTO ISL101: An American national, center, reportedly working for the FBI, leaves a police station in Karachi, Pakistan, Thursday, May 8, 2014. Pakistan released an FBI agent on bail Thursday after three days in custody, officials said, a move that is likely to prevent the situation from escalating into a diplomatic spat. The American man was detained after airport authorities found him carrying ammunition and three knives Monday as he was about to board a flight for the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.(AP Photo/Mohammad Khalil) (8 May 2014)
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