US official confirms restriction on Pak diplomats

WASHINGTON: A senior official of Trump Administration has confirmed that Pakistani diplomats cannot move without seeking prior permission from the concerned authorities in the State Department.

In an interview with VOA's Uzbek service, Thomas Shannon, Under Secretary for Political Affairs, said this restriction was placed in response to the same conditions Islamabad has imposed on US diplomats in Pakistan.

Shannon stressed that this is nothing new and such steps are routine matters.

Some media reports earlier this month suggested that Pakistani diplomats in US are told to seek permission before they travel beyond certain limits. However, Foreign Office and US Embassy in Islamabad denied such reports.