US Pulls Out of Pakistan Meetings (Countrywide Protests Over "Diplomat" Who Killed Two)

[tekisui]

US Pulls Out of Pakistan Meetings

Source: Financial Times

The US has postponed a meeting with Pakistani officials in Washington amid an escalating dispute over the fate of Raymond Davis, an American embassy official who shot dead two men.

The Obama administration is placing mounting pressure on Pakistan to free Mr Davis, on the grounds that embassy staff are entitled to diplomatic immunity. Pakistan’s government has said the courts must decide his status.

The stand-off has chilled relations at a time when the US is seeking to win broader co-operation from Pakistan’s military in its campaign in Afghanistan.

The US State Department said at the weekend that it was postponing a February 23-24 meeting of senior officials from the US, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

more: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/15726c6e-3770-11e0-b91a-00144feabdc0.html?ftcamp=rss#axzz1Dsqa5rcE

Countrywide protest on Raymond’s possible release on JI call

Source: Sana



LAHORE, (SANA): Protest day was observed all over the country on Friday against the possible release of the American national Raymond Davis, who killed three innocent youth here last month and the US pressure on that count, on the appeal of the Jamaat-e-Islami Amir Syed Munawar Hassan.

Large number of people joined the protest rallies and demonstrations staged in the federal and the provincial capitals besides major cities and towns at which the speakers from JI and other political, religious parties and social organizations strongly opposed the release of Raymond Davis under any pressure.

Syed Munawar Hassan, while addressing a large Friday congregation at Mansoora, said that the Pakistani rulers were US slaves and nothing good was expected of them. However, he made it clear that if the rulers handed over Raymond Davis by compromising national honour and dignity, they won’t survive and even Washington would not be able to shield them.

He said in fact, the rulers should be thankful to the religious parties who had so far prevented the furious masses from taking the law in their own hands on the issue, and warned that if the masses rose against oppression and injustice, no power could withstand their fury.

more: http://www.sananews.net/english/2011/02/12/countrywide-protest-on-raymond%E2%80%99s-possible-release-on-ji-call/

[tekisui]

1. More on this case, he really fucked it up:

Source: Christian Science Monitor

Pakistani officials contend that Davis’s diplomatic status remains unclear. Reports that Davis was formerly a member of the US special forces, as well as his competence with a handgun shown in the shooting, have fueled rumors that he may be part of a larger American covert military effort in Pakistan, The Financial Times reports. Lahore’s police chief, Aslam Tareen has also stated that his department now has evidence Davis killed in “cold blood,” not self-defense.

“Raymond Davis fired ten bullets,” said Mr. Tareen. “The evidence shows that this was a cold-blooded murder. It was not a self-defense case, it was clear-cut murder.”

Although Pakistani officials appear unwilling to grant Davis diplomatic immunity, The New York Times reports that Pakistani officials have privately acknowledged that Davis, who holds a diplomatic passport, is protected by the Vienna Conventions. In the face of fierce public opposition, however, senior American officials say their Pakistani counterparts “appear unable or unwilling to enforce the protocol.”

Some of the strongest protests against releasing Davis have come from Pakistan’s Islamist community, which has used the case to paint the current government as a "stooge" of the US, according to the Financial Times.

more: http://www.csmonitor.com/World/terrorism-security/2011/0211/Pakistan-court-extends-detention-of-US-official-despite-growing-pressure-from-US

[dipsydoodle]

2. When this first came about

I don't recall any mention of a "diplomatic passport" and there were doubts cast as whether he could claim diplomatic immunity. Sound like a "back dated" job to me.

[tekisui]

3. The people aren't falling for it either. They want him to hang.

[DURHAM D]

4. Oh dear...

“Raymond Davis fired ten bullets,” said Mr. Tareen. “The evidence shows that this was a cold-blooded murder. It was not a self-defense case, it was clear-cut murder.”

Is that the same police organization that said Benazir Bhutto killed herself by hitting her head on the roof of her car?

I don't believe anything anyone says about this or any other matter regarding Pakistan.

[GeorgeGist]

6. Good point.

Best not to take sides with criminals of either stripe.

[elias49]

5. Maybe if the US paid more than lip service to Geneva Conventions...

:blush:

[Donald Ian Rankin]

7. This OP is very much presenting one side of the case.

The other, which is not mentioned, is that Mr Davis claims that the shooting was in self defence and the youths were trying to rob him.

Now, he's not necessarily telling the truth, but then again the Pakistani police force is not necessarily telling the truth either.