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By Irwin Arieff

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 8 (Reuters) - The United States asked Pakistan to lift the diplomatic immunity of its U.N. ambassador after his quarrel with a girlfriend came to the attention of New York police, U.S. officials said on Wednesday.

The State Department demand, in a Dec. 28 letter, was made at the request of New York prosecutors and would clear the way for them to file misdemeanor assault charges against Ambassador Munir Akram, U.S. and New York officials said.

A Pakistani official in New York dismissed the incident as a police misunderstanding that had grown out of a private matter between the unmarried ambassador and "a friend."

The request to end Akram's immunity from prosecution came at an awkward time for Pakistan, which began a two-year term last week on the prestigious 15-nation Security Council.

It could also have diplomatic fallout for Washington, as Islamabad is an important ally in the U.S. war on terror.

The request leaves Pakistan with three options -- lifting Akram's immunity and allowing him to be prosecuted, sending him home and naming a replacement, or refusing the State Department request, U.S. and Pakistani officials said.

"We have asked them to waive immunity. That's what we normally do in cases like this," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told a daily briefing. "I don't have any outcome to report to you at this time," he added.

Mansoor Suhail, a spokesman for Pakistan's U.N. Mission, said Islamabad had no intention of sending Munir home and could end up rejecting the U.S. request.

Diplomats predicted he ultimately would be returned home to prevent the incident from becoming a major embarrassment.

BRUISE ON HER HEAD

The incident stemmed from a call at 1:36 a.m. on Dec. 10 from a woman who said a man she identified as her husband had smashed her head into a wall and asked that officers come to a New York residence. She said he was a diplomat and had hit her before, a police spokeswoman said.

When officers arrived, Marijana Mihic, 35, gave a different version of events, saying she had fallen after the man, now referred to as her "boyfriend," had grabbed her after an argument, the police spokeswoman said.

The police left without pressing charges but said in their report that Mihic had a bruised head, the spokeswoman said.

Suhail told Reuters there were no grounds for charges.

"No charges were filed and the individual involved did not ask that any charges be filed. The ambassador and the concerned friend strongly believe there is no basis for any legal action," he said.

In Islamabad, Foreign Ministry spokesman Aziz Ahmed Khan dismissed the matter. "It's just kite-flying. As far as I know, it's totally a baseless report," he said.

Richard Grenell, spokesman for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, said the State Department letter was standard U.S. policy under the circumstances. 

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