A Pakistani court has dismissed the case against an FBI agent accused of trying to carry ammunition onto a flight.
The American, identified as Joel Cox, was arrested May 5 after airport authorities in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi found during routine checks that he was carrying 15 rounds of 9 millimeter ammunition and three knives. He was bound for the capital Islamabad.
A judge in Karachi on Monday quashed the case saying police failed to present any evidence against the agent.
Police Superintendent Rao Anwar told VOA's Urdu service the case was dismissed after a letter from the U.S. Embassy said the FBI agent was carrying the ammunition unintentionally and that he was authorized to carry a weapon while in Pakistan.
The FBI agent was released on bail a few days after his arrest.
The State Department had confirmed that the American was on a "temporary duty assignment to provide routine assistance to the legal attache at the U.S. mission."
The incident occurred at a time of relative calm in the sometimes strained relationship between the United States and Pakistan, which have conducted joint efforts against terrorism.
The 2011 fatal shooting of two Pakistani men by CIA contractor Raymond Davis in the eastern city of Lahore sparked a diplomatic crisis between the countries.
A Pakistani court eventually freed Davis following a payment of $2 million to the families of those killed.
The American, identified as Joel Cox, was arrested May 5 after airport authorities in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi found during routine checks that he was carrying 15 rounds of 9 millimeter ammunition and three knives. He was bound for the capital Islamabad.
A judge in Karachi on Monday quashed the case saying police failed to present any evidence against the agent.
Police Superintendent Rao Anwar told VOA's Urdu service the case was dismissed after a letter from the U.S. Embassy said the FBI agent was carrying the ammunition unintentionally and that he was authorized to carry a weapon while in Pakistan.
The FBI agent was released on bail a few days after his arrest.
The State Department had confirmed that the American was on a "temporary duty assignment to provide routine assistance to the legal attache at the U.S. mission."
The incident occurred at a time of relative calm in the sometimes strained relationship between the United States and Pakistan, which have conducted joint efforts against terrorism.
The 2011 fatal shooting of two Pakistani men by CIA contractor Raymond Davis in the eastern city of Lahore sparked a diplomatic crisis between the countries.
A Pakistani court eventually freed Davis following a payment of $2 million to the families of those killed.
