Lahore court extends Davis remand for 14 days
LAHORE: A court on Thursday put off ruling whether a US official accused of double murder has diplomatic immunity, threatening to prolong a crisis with Washington for another month.
The court adjourned until March 14, extending tensions between the United States and Pakistan
Raymond Davis, whom Washington insists has diplomatic immunity, says he acted in self-defence when he shot dead two men in a busy street in Lahore on January 27.
A third Pakistani died when struck by a US diplomatic vehicle that came to Daviss assistance.
As the deputy attorney general has requested three weeks to submit a reply on the status of Raymond Davis, the case is adjourned until March 14, Lahore high court chief justice Ijaz Mohammad Chaudhry said.
Reacting to the hearing, US ambassador Cameron Munter said the US was disappointed that the government of Pakistan did not certify that Raymond Davis has diplomatic immunity.
The government in Islamabad is under enormous domestic pressure not to be seen as kowtowing to US demands for Davis release and has come under fire over how American officials are seemingly free to drive around with loaded weapons.
Senator Kerrys visit to Pakistan manifested our intention to work with the government of Pakistan to resolve this issue, said Munter.
As the senator said during his visit, we want to work together as two countries that have a common interest in the same goal and find a path forward.
This is not a simple case. It has legal, social, political and international implications, and the government therefore wants to find a solution with consensus, Information Minister Firdous Ashiq Awan said.
But political analyst Hasan Askari told AFP: The longer the delay, the more difficult it will become for the government. You create room for a lot of speculation.
Another court on Thursday remanded Davis in custody until March 3 in a separate case of illegal arms possession, the American making an appearance by video link from jail, said Punjab government prosecutor Abdul Samad.
Demonstrators in Multan, the home town of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, burnt the US flag and an effigy of US Senator John Kerry, who visited Pakistan this week, to protest against pressure for Davis release, witnesses said.
Many Pakistanis remain suspicious about why Davis, who reportedly worked for a security contractor, was carrying loaded weapons and a GPS satellite tracking device.
US authorities say he is a diplomat assigned to the US embassy.
A statement on January 28 that identified him as a staff member of the US consulate general in Lahore was a mistake owing to the effort to get information out, US embassy spokeswoman Courtney Beale told AFP on Thursday.
When we checked the diplomatic note we realised that he was assigned to the embassy. We mistakenly said he was with the consulate, Beale said.
When it came to not releasing his identity, she said Davis gave them permission to use his name only after a week.
Lahore court extends Davis