Lahore: Three Americans and their two Pakistani companions were briefly detained for visiting Punjab province`s Attock city, where foreigners are barred from entering, officials have said.

The Americans and the Pakistani women were taken into custody at the office of an Afghanistan-based NGO in Attock. "We detained the foreigners as they did not have visas for Attock," a senior police officer said. < The US nationals James Richard, Jonathan Paul and Daniel Ryan were freed after the intervention of the US Consulate in Lahore. The two Pakistani women detained along with them were also released, police officials said.
"We have freed them after investigating the matter," the officer said. A source said that the Americans were freed after the US Consulate intervened in the matter. The Americans work for an NGO and had travelled to Pakistan from India via the Wagah land border.
PTI