Raymond Davis Case: Developing Story

[ajtr]

Pakistani seeks arrest of second U.S. employee​

(Reuters) - A Pakistani man is demanding the arrest of a second U.S. embassy employee in Pakistan, his lawyer said on Friday, adding fuel to an incident that has severely strained ties between Washington and Islamabad.

The move comes as U.S. officials pressure Pakistan to release Raymond Davis, a U.S. consulate employee who is locked in a jail after shooting and killing two Pakistanis in the city of Lahore last month in what he said was an attempted robbery.

Ijaz-ur-Rehman, whose brother Ibad was killed when a U.S. vehicle came to Davis' rescue in the aftermath of the January 27 shooting, filed a petition in the Lahore High Court demanding the car's driver be arrested, lawyer Noman Atiq said.

Atiq said his client had asked for the vehicle, which the U.S. State Department said was driven by an embassy staff member, to be impounded.

"We want a proper investigation to be carried out in the murder of my brother," Rehman said. "What we want is for the culprits to be punished for their crime."

The fate of Davis, a former U.S. Special Forces soldier, is another test for the frayed U.S.-Pakistani alliance, already strained by U.S. allegations that Pakistan has not acted strongly enough against Islamist militants launching attacks on U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

Yet the government of President Asif Ali Zardari, battling its own insurgency and struggling to hold together a fragile political coalition, is reluctant to ignite popular fury in a case that has galvanized anti-American sentiment.

Hundreds of opposition and Islamist activists protested in front of the U.S. consulate in Lahore and across town, burning tires and the U.S. flag and demanding Davis stay in Pakistan. Similar protests were held in Karachi, Peshawar and Multan.

The United States insists Davis is covered by diplomatic immunity but, while it has signaled it agrees, the Zardari government has so far said the matter must be decided in court.

The identity of the U.S. embassy employee who drove the car that struck and killed Ibad-ur-Rehman has not been made public.

Rana Sanaullah, law minister in Punjab province, where Lahore is located, said officials were pressing the federal government to arrange for the car to be handed over from the United States, but had not yet received a reply.

(Additional reporting by Zeeshan Haider in ISLAMABAD;writing by Missy Ryan; Editing by Chris Allbritton and Sugita Katyal)

 

[Awesome]

47 witness attest to the fact that no gun was pointed at Raymond and he wasn't acting in self-defence: Police Charge-Sheet

The charge-sheet also contains the statements of 47 witnesses, who have said that Davis did not shoot the men in self-defence. They also said that Davis had shot directly at the two boys and kept shooting even when one of them tried to flee. Police have requested the court to act against Davis under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). Davis is due to appear in court on February 25.

 

[Awesome]

Cabinet appointees fall in the preserve of Prime Ministerial prerogative. No court including the LHC can interfere in that. Falsifying documents fall into a different arena completely. The foreign minister has no legal recourse, only political. Even the foreign secretary would ordinarily have no legal recourse to being sacked as foreign secretary, that position cannot be claimed as a right. He would however have legal recourse if he was sacked from the foreign service.

The court when it determines that the documents were falsified, can invalidate the new determination of the Foreign Ministry. Of course when the federal government is determined to bypass the law it probably can, but when the public sees them violating the judicial system, who will save them when the mob enters Shara-e-Dastoor (Constitution Avenue), and forces justice.

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

Your statement is self-contradictory.

By saying 'as a civilian' and 'apparently Davis did not', you are passing judgement on the diplomatic status of a person claiming diplomatic immunity.

What's left then? Now you've become the judge and the prosecutor all by yourself.

It's for the FO to decide. I don't know why are you guys having so much difficulty understanding such simple words.

you seem quite confused; do go back and review my earlier posts....

almost EVERYTHING here is speculation; I am basing my information on what I know and/or what I have read from the news reports

davis himself said he is a tech. advisor/consultant. By the way, his Honda didn't even have diplomatic plates. They were civilian plates (which, it appears, were bogus)

 

[American Eagle]

The facts are not created by false statements most likely purchased well after the fact of the failed robbery attempt on Mr. Davis.

But the world will see all the valid facts when and after the Pakistani Court's Order is first answered by the GOP/FO acknowledging that Mr. Davis has and had full Diplomatic Immunity.

Then the judicial process will move to a federal court in the USA and Pakistan can contest the case as the complaining party in the USA, where Mr. Davis is by International law, covenant, and treaties with Pakistan entitled to first be sent because he has Diplomtic Immunity.

Be wary of those who press hard on this PDF site with obvious to any reader, Pakistani, US, UK, whatever nationality, with obvious fraud and fake points of order, when the sole, only point of Order is the declaration by the Pakistan FO through the Pakistani Government of Mr. Davis having, does have, is entitled to have and has Diplomatic Immunity.

 

[Awesome]

The facts are not created by false statements most likely purchased well after the fact of the failed robbery attempt on Mr. Davis.

47 eye witnesses disagree with you. What have you got?

 

[VCheng]

47 eye witnesses disagree with you. What have you got?

I have PATIENCE to wait for the hearing on the 25th without speculating!

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

Pakistani police stating to Davis that his passport does not certify him as a diplomat.

a personal observation and opinion;

for somebody who is facing such serious charges, he seems not only quite relaxed but also from his physical non-verbal behaviour I am seeing some bad attitude in him. The guy's being accused of murder, and he's asking for his passport.

by the way, i like his new haircut

 

[Pak_Sher]

Pakistani seeks arrest of second U.S. employee​

(Reuters) - A Pakistani man is demanding the arrest of a second U.S. embassy employee in Pakistan, his lawyer said on Friday, adding fuel to an incident that has severely strained ties between Washington and Islamabad.

The move comes as U.S. officials pressure Pakistan to release Raymond Davis, a U.S. consulate employee who is locked in a jail after shooting and killing two Pakistanis in the city of Lahore last month in what he said was an attempted robbery.

Ijaz-ur-Rehman, whose brother Ibad was killed when a U.S. vehicle came to Davis' rescue in the aftermath of the January 27 shooting, filed a petition in the Lahore High Court demanding the car's driver be arrested, lawyer Noman Atiq said.

Atiq said his client had asked for the vehicle, which the U.S. State Department said was driven by an embassy staff member, to be impounded.

"We want a proper investigation to be carried out in the murder of my brother," Rehman said. "What we want is for the culprits to be punished for their crime."

The fate of Davis, a former U.S. Special Forces soldier, is another test for the frayed U.S.-Pakistani alliance, already strained by U.S. allegations that Pakistan has not acted strongly enough against Islamist militants launching attacks on U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

Yet the government of President Asif Ali Zardari, battling its own insurgency and struggling to hold together a fragile political coalition, is reluctant to ignite popular fury in a case that has galvanized anti-American sentiment.

Hundreds of opposition and Islamist activists protested in front of the U.S. consulate in Lahore and across town, burning tires and the U.S. flag and demanding Davis stay in Pakistan. Similar protests were held in Karachi, Peshawar and Multan.

The United States insists Davis is covered by diplomatic immunity but, while it has signaled it agrees, the Zardari government has so far said the matter must be decided in court.

The identity of the U.S. embassy employee who drove the car that struck and killed Ibad-ur-Rehman has not been made public.

Rana Sanaullah, law minister in Punjab province, where Lahore is located, said officials were pressing the federal government to arrange for the car to be handed over from the United States, but had not yet received a reply.

(Additional reporting by Zeeshan Haider in ISLAMABAD;writing by Missy Ryan; Editing by Chris Allbritton and Sugita Katyal)

Definately the US Vehicle need to be imponded and the driver arrested because Mr. Ibad was totally an innocent person and his murderers cannot just walk freely. Usually US diplomats committing crimes try to leave ASAP, but Pakistan should have a record of Americans diplomats existing the country. That will be easy to narrow down.

Liberty and Justice for all, lets follow that principal.

 

[Ghareeb_Da_Baal]

Stratfor warns of widespread mob violence in Pakistan

News Desk
Friday, February 18, 2011

WASHINGTON: US-based Global Intelligence Forecast Organisation, Stratfor, has revealed that American diplomatic facilities and business interests in Pakistan were ‘almost certainly’ reviewing their contingency plans right now and planning for the worst-case scenario anticipating widespread disturbances because of the murders committed by Raymond Davis who, it said, did not enjoy diplomatic immunity.

Stratfor revealed that as a contract employee assigned to the US Consulate in Lahore, Davis was likely not on the diplomatic list and probably did not enjoy full diplomatic immunity.

In a detailed report by Scott Stewart, Stratfor said the case could have larger consequences for Davis and for American diplomatic facilities and commercial interests in Pakistan. “There is a very real possibility that Davis’ release could spark mob violence in Pakistan (and specifically Lahore). Even if the Pakistani government does try to defuse the situation, there are other parties who will attempt to stir up violence. “Due to the widespread discontent over the issue of US security contractors in Pakistan, if protests do follow the release of Davis, they can be expected to be similar to the protests that followed Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) [sacrilegious] cartoon case, i.e., they will cut across ethnic and sectarian lines and present a widespread threat.”

He was probably considered a member of the administrative or technical staff. Protecting himself during a robbery attempt would not be considered part of his official function in the country, and therefore his actions that day would not be covered under functional immunity.

At the time of the shooting, of course, Davis would not have had time to leisurely ponder the potential legal quagmire. He saw a threat and reacted to it.

Indeed, on Feb 15, US Senator John Kerry flew to Islamabad in a bid to seek Davis’ release. However, in spite of American efforts and international convention, Davis’ case is complicated greatly by the fact that he was working in Pakistan and by the current state of US-Pakistani relations.

Like Iraq, Pakistan is a country that has seen considerable controversy over American security contractors over the past several years. The government of Pakistan has gone after security contractor companies like DynCorp and its Pakistani affiliate InterRisk and Xe (formerly known as Blackwater), which has become the Pakistani version of the bogeyman. In addition to the clandestine security and intelligence work the company was conducting in Pakistan, in 2009 the Taliban even began to blame Xe for suicide bombing attacks that killed civilians. The end result is that American security contractors have become extremely unpopular in Pakistan. They are viewed not only as an affront to Pakistani sovereignty but also as trigger-happy killers. And this is the environment in which the Davis shooting occurred.

The report warns that if the protesters are able to set fire to the building (where Davis has been lodged), as happened at the US Embassy in Islamabad in 1979, a safe-haven can become a death trap, especially if the mob can take control of the secondary escape hatch as it did in that incident, trapping the Americans inside the safe-haven.

Once a mob attacks, there often is little that can be done - especially if the host government either cannot or will not take action to protect the facility being attacked. At that point, the focus should be on preventing injuries and saving lives - without regard to the physical property. In most cases, when a mob attacks a multinational corporation, it is attacking a symbolic target.

US diplomatic facilities and business interests in Pakistan are almost certainly reviewing their contingency plans right now and planning for the worst-case scenario. During such times, vigilance and preparation are vital, as is a constant flow of updated intelligence pertaining to potential demonstrations. Such intelligence can provide time for an evacuation or allow other proactive security measures to be taken. With the current tension between Pakistan and the United States, there might not be much help coming when the next wave of unrest erupts, so keeping ahead of potential protests is critically important, Stratfor concluded.

 

[Awesome]

I have PATIENCE to wait for the hearing on the 25th without speculating!

Too much patience, can also allow facts to be subverted through concentrated media manipulations that has started ever since the US machinery has become active.

On a different note, just check out what all bunkers Davis photographed:

 

[Awesome]

This awaits the fate of Shara-e-Dastoor if they try to circumvent the law

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

I have read some reports that he (Davis) had established some contact with members of the taleban.

Can somebody confirm this, or is it a mere theory?

 

[Pak_Sher]

Why was Raymond Davis photographing Pakistani Military Installations. After this video, Davis seems more like a CIA Spy than a diplomat. Since Pakistan is a Non-Nato Ally, CIA has special program to screw its allies.

 

[Awesome]

Shumaila's uncle recounts how mysterious (probably western) figures pointed a gun to his head to withdraw the case in favor of Americans. Several villagers attest to this incident: