US man,held in Pak over bullets in baggage,released

A US embassy employee was released after being held for questioning in Pakistan

A US embassy employee was released after being held for questioning in Pakistan on Tuesday when airport security officials discovered bullets in his luggage,police said. The American was about to to fly from the city of Peshawar to the capital Islamabad when he was taken into police custody,said Tahir Ayub,a senior police superintendent.

He was released after four hours when officials from the US consulate in Peshawar produced documents to show the man worked at the consulate. Hes been released to the consulate, a US official in Islamabad said. Hes at the consulate now. The American is an embassy employee usually based in Islamabad but was temporarily assigned to the Peshawar consulate,the official said.

Police officers had earlier said they would hold the man until his identity had been verified by the foreign office in Islamabad and a US official in the capital had said the embassy was looking into the details of the reports.

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He has diplomatic status, the official said. Were in contact with Pakistani authorities on the details on the case. Ayub said a pistol and 12 magazine rounds had been recovered from the mans luggage,while another police officer said security officials had only found bullets.

The detention was likely to revive memories of Raymond Davis,a CIA contractor who shot and killed two Pakistanis in the eastern city of Lahore in January 2011. The US embassy in Islamabad said Davis had diplomatic immunity,which Pakistan refused to recognise. Davis spent two months in jail before being released.