In this photograph taken on May 6, 2014, Pakistani policemen escort an alleged US FBI agent under arrest as they leave the local court in Karachi
Karachi:
A Pakistani court on Thursday granted bail to an American FBI agent who was arrested this week for trying to board a plane while carrying ammunition.
The agent was arrested at Karachi airport on Monday when security staff found him carrying 15 bullets for a 9mm handgun during routine checks for a flight to the capital Islamabad.
The incident came at a time of relative tranquillity in the United States' often-fraught relationship with Pakistan, which has improved markedly since almost collapsing in 2011 amid a series of crises.
A local court in the southern port city approved the bail application and ordered payment of a bond worth one million Pakistani rupees ($10,000), senior police officer Rao Anwar told AFP.
"The court has approved his bail application and ordered that the American will be released after depositing surety bond of one million rupees," Anwar said.
"He will be released after depositing the surety bond," Anwar said.
A US State Department spokeswoman said: "This individual detained is an employee of the FBI who was on a temporary duty assignment to provide routine assistance to the legal attache at the US mission.
"But we are coordinating closely to resolve this manner with authorities, and we are hopeful in that regard."
The fatal shooting of two men by CIA contractor Raymond Davis in the eastern city of Lahore in January 2011 sparked a diplomatic crisis between the two "war on terror" allies.
A Pakistani court eventually freed Raymond Davis following the payment of $2 million in blood money to the families of the dead men.
The agent was arrested at Karachi airport on Monday when security staff found him carrying 15 bullets for a 9mm handgun during routine checks for a flight to the capital Islamabad.
The incident came at a time of relative tranquillity in the United States' often-fraught relationship with Pakistan, which has improved markedly since almost collapsing in 2011 amid a series of crises.
A local court in the southern port city approved the bail application and ordered payment of a bond worth one million Pakistani rupees ($10,000), senior police officer Rao Anwar told AFP.
"The court has approved his bail application and ordered that the American will be released after depositing surety bond of one million rupees," Anwar said.
"He will be released after depositing the surety bond," Anwar said.
A US State Department spokeswoman said: "This individual detained is an employee of the FBI who was on a temporary duty assignment to provide routine assistance to the legal attache at the US mission.
"But we are coordinating closely to resolve this manner with authorities, and we are hopeful in that regard."
The fatal shooting of two men by CIA contractor Raymond Davis in the eastern city of Lahore in January 2011 sparked a diplomatic crisis between the two "war on terror" allies.
A Pakistani court eventually freed Raymond Davis following the payment of $2 million in blood money to the families of the dead men.
