Davis case: Foreign ministry seeks more time from court
By IANSThursday, February 17, 2011
LAHORE - Pakistan’s foreign ministry Thursday sought more time from the Lahore High Court to respond to whether US official Raymond Davis, who shot dead two Pakistanis here, enjoys diplomatic immunity, a media report said.
The foreign ministry sought more time to file reply in the Raymond Davis case that the court began hearing to decide if Davis had diplomatic immunity, Geo News reported.
Former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had said Davis does not have full diplomatic status.
The arrest of Davis, an American employee of the US diplomatic mission in Pakistan, after he shot dead two Pakistani men on a motorcycle Jan 27 in Lahore, has triggered a major row between the US and Pakistan.
Davis opened fire when the two men, who some reports now say were Pakistani intelligence operatives tailing him, came close to his car. The American has said he fired in self-defence because he thought they were robbers.
The incident led to a third death when a speeding US consulate vehicle coming to the rescue of Davis overran a motorcyclist.
US officials have threatened to cut the $1.5 billion of annual aid to Pakistan if Davis is not released, and Tuesday put bilateral contacts on hold.
The case took a dramatic turn Feb 6 when the widow of one of the victims of the Lahore shooting, Muhammad Fahim, committed suicide, turning public opinion further against the jailed American.
The woman apparently feared that her husband’s killer would be let off by the Pakistan government.
