Pakistan says US prisoner Davis has immunity
An American jailed for shooting two Pakistanis is shielded by diplomatic immunity, a Pakistani official said on Wednesday, a move that might help end a bruising row between the troubled allies.
February 16, 2011 / 15:16 IST
An American jailed for shooting two Pakistanis is shielded by diplomatic immunity, a Pakistani official said on Wednesday, a move that might help end a bruising row between the troubled allies.
A local court, however, must decide the fate of Raymond Davis, the US consulate employee who shot and killed two Pakistani men in the city of Lahore last month in what he said was a robbery attempt."We will present all relevant laws and rules about immunity before the court and will plead that prima facie it is a case of diplomatic immunity. But it is for the court to decide," a senior Pakistani government official said on condition of anonymity.The row over the US national is the latest issue straining ties between two nations that are supposed to be working to stamp out a tenacious Islamist insurgency that has fuelled attacks against US soldiers in neighbouring Afghanistan.Washington has insisted Davis, whose role at the US consulate in Lahore is unclear, should be released immediately.On Tuesday, President Barack Obama said the United States was working with the Pakistani government to secure the release of the former US special forces soldier.Up to now the Pakistani government, fearful of a backlash from Pakistanis already wary of the United States and enraged by the shooting on a crowded street, had said only that the matter should be decided in court.The United States is expected to present a petition to a Lahore court on Thursday to certify that Davis has diplomatic immunity and should be released.Yet freeing Davis could be risky for the unpopular Pakistani government which is already struggling with a stagnant economy, growing public discontent over rampant corruption, poverty and power cuts.Anti-US sentiment runs deepThe issue has become a lightning rod for anti-American sentiment in Pakistan, which the United States counts as an important, if unreliable, ally in its war against militancy.Pakistan's al Qaeda-linked Taliban warned the government on Tuesday it would punish any move to release Davis and hundreds of Pakistanis have held rallies demanding he remain in jail.Imdad Sabir, a school teacher in Lahore, said Pakistan's integrity was at stake."If our rulers give him to the United States, Pakistan will come out onto the streets and protest as people did in Egypt," he said, referring to the mass demonstrations that forced President Hosni Mubarak out of power earlier this month.Mohammad Farid, a waiter at a tea stall just a few metres from where Davis shot the two men, said Davis should be held accountable under Pakistani law."The people will get angry and some will stage violent protests if he is released," Farid said. "People's sentiments are quite high at the moment."Obama sent Senator John Kerry, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and member of the Democratic Party, to meet Pakistani officials on Wednesday to try to resolve the crisis.Pakistan's Dawn newspaper said the government will inform the Lahore High Court that Davis' status as a member of the consulate's administrative and technical staff made him eligible for diplomatic immunity.But analysts say the immunity argument may not sit easily with many Pakistanis."The question is, whatever happens, will the government be able to sell it to the public and the family of the victims. Right now it's a very emotional issue," said Rifaat Hussain, a professor at Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad.Ties between the United States and Pakistan are already strained by US unmanned drone strikes in the Pakistani northwest on the Afghan border that Pakistanis see as a violation of their sovereignty. Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
