Raymond Davis Case: American Government officials confirm CIA status - New York Times
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VCheng
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Wise legal counsel might just be the thing:
from: FO to seek services of international legal experts on immunity issue | Pakistan | DAWN.COM
ISLAMABAD: State minister for foreign affairs Hina Rabbani Khar on Tuesday said that the foreign office was considering on seeking services of international legal experts to interpret the Vienna Convention, 1961.
Speaking to reporters in Islamabad, Khar said the government will present the issue of US national Raymond Davis’ status before the court in light of that interpretation.
Khar said that Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had already stated that the governments of Pakistan and United States were not on the same page with regards to Davis’ status.
She further said that the decision on whether Davis enjoys immunity from criminal prosecution will be made by the court.
Khar reiterated that Pakistan’s sovereignty would not be compromised on the Davis issue and hoped that the US would not let the two states’ ties deteriorate over it.
Moreover, Khar stated that there were no differences between the interior and foreign ministries on the Davis case.
from: FO to seek services of international legal experts on immunity issue | Pakistan | DAWN.COM
ISLAMABAD: State minister for foreign affairs Hina Rabbani Khar on Tuesday said that the foreign office was considering on seeking services of international legal experts to interpret the Vienna Convention, 1961.
Speaking to reporters in Islamabad, Khar said the government will present the issue of US national Raymond Davis’ status before the court in light of that interpretation.
Khar said that Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had already stated that the governments of Pakistan and United States were not on the same page with regards to Davis’ status.
She further said that the decision on whether Davis enjoys immunity from criminal prosecution will be made by the court.
Khar reiterated that Pakistan’s sovereignty would not be compromised on the Davis issue and hoped that the US would not let the two states’ ties deteriorate over it.
Moreover, Khar stated that there were no differences between the interior and foreign ministries on the Davis case.
VCheng
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CIA? So what, it makes no difference per Farhatullah Babar:
from: Raymond
LAHORE/TOKYO: Pakistan insisted on Tuesday that the courts would decide the fate of an American detained on murder charges, even after it was revealed he was a CIA contractor whom Washington says enjoys diplomatic immunity.
The case of 36-year-old Raymond Davis, a former US special forces officer, has strained the already-uneasy alliance between the United States and Pakistan, who are supposed to be united in the face of militants waging a war in Afghanistan.
Davis’ killing of two Pakistani men in Lahore last month has inflamed anti-US sentiment in Pakistan. His trial for murder beings on Friday, February 25.
The United States, however, says Davis has diplomatic immunity and should be released immediately. Davis says he acted in self defence against what he said were armed robbers, and is currently being held in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat jail where, despite tight security, some US officials fear for his life.
“The President has already stated that the matter is in the court and we will wait for the court decision in this case,” Farhatullah Babar, a spokesman for President Asif Ali Zardari told Reuters during an official visit to Japan.
“Regardless of whether he now turns out to be a CIA employee, the matter will be decided by the court.”
US sources in Washington closely following the case said on Monday Davis was a “protective officer” employed as a CIA contractor.
Davis’ duties were essentially as a bodyguard, to provide physical security to US Embassy and consular officers and visiting American dignitaries, US officials who declined to be identified told Reuters.
Officials strongly denied news reports alleging Davis was part of a covert CIA-led team of operatives conducting surveillance on militant groups.
US officials have complained for days that security conditions under which Davis has been held have put his life in grave danger. Pakistan said on Monday it was taking steps to keep Davis safe.
Two US sources familiar with the matter confirmed to Reuters that Davis, worked previously on contract as a security officer for Xe Services, a controversial private contractor formerly known as Blackwater.
Asked during a conference call with reporters about a link between Davis and the CIA, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said: “We will not comment on his particular activity in Pakistan other than to say he is a member of the administrative and technical staff of the embassy and has diplomatic immunity.”
“From that point…he enjoyed privileges and immunities against local criminal law, including inviolability of person, inviolability from arrest and detention, and immunity from criminal jurisdiction,” another senior US official said.
The official said the United States was trying to work out a diplomatic solution to the disagreement but noted it could take the matter to the International Court of Justice.
Crowley said the United States was not considering curtailing economic or military assistance to Pakistan to show its displeasure over Davis’ treatment.
Concerns over security
While some Pakistani officials have signalled they would like to back Davis’s immunity, the government so far has said local courts must decide. Last week, the Lahore court delayed a hearing on whether Davis had immunity until March 14, prolonging the diplomatic standoff and stoking concerns for his safety.
Prison sources in Lahore said surveillance cameras were monitoring the area where Davis has been locked in a cell isolated from other prisoners.
Thirty-six unarmed guards, who Pakistani officials say have been specially screened, are standing watch in shifts of eight.
Outside the Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore, where protesters have demanded Davis be publicly hanged, some 75 police officers, a team of provincial rangers and vehicles packed with elite forces were deployed.
Abdul Samad, a deputy prosecutor-general in Lahore, told Reuters the first hearing in Davis’ murder trial would be held inside the jail for “security reasons”.
The United States holds Pakistan’s government fully responsible for Davis’ safety, spokesman Crowley said.
Shooting incident
A US source familiar with other official reporting from Pakistan said that according to Davis’ account of the shooting incident, two men on a motorbike cornered him and pulled a gun on him as he was driving on a street in Lahore.
The source said Davis, believing his life was in danger, drew his weapon and shot the men through the window of his car. At some point, the source said, Davis got out of his car and used his mobile phone to take pictures of the assailants.
He took the pictures to corroborate his story about what had happened, the source said.
US sources denied reports and rumours in Pakistan suggesting Davis’ assailants had some connection with Pakistan’s principal intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence directorate, also known as the ISI.
With cooperation from ISI elements, the US government, including the CIA, has for the past several years been attacking militants in Pakistani tribal areas using missiles fired from remotely piloted drone aircraft.
Relations between ISI and its US counterparts have deteriorated since an incident last year in which the name of the CIA’s undercover station chief in Pakistan was leaked to local media, resulting in the official having to make a hasty exit from the country.
from: Raymond
LAHORE/TOKYO: Pakistan insisted on Tuesday that the courts would decide the fate of an American detained on murder charges, even after it was revealed he was a CIA contractor whom Washington says enjoys diplomatic immunity.
The case of 36-year-old Raymond Davis, a former US special forces officer, has strained the already-uneasy alliance between the United States and Pakistan, who are supposed to be united in the face of militants waging a war in Afghanistan.
Davis’ killing of two Pakistani men in Lahore last month has inflamed anti-US sentiment in Pakistan. His trial for murder beings on Friday, February 25.
The United States, however, says Davis has diplomatic immunity and should be released immediately. Davis says he acted in self defence against what he said were armed robbers, and is currently being held in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat jail where, despite tight security, some US officials fear for his life.
“The President has already stated that the matter is in the court and we will wait for the court decision in this case,” Farhatullah Babar, a spokesman for President Asif Ali Zardari told Reuters during an official visit to Japan.
“Regardless of whether he now turns out to be a CIA employee, the matter will be decided by the court.”
US sources in Washington closely following the case said on Monday Davis was a “protective officer” employed as a CIA contractor.
Davis’ duties were essentially as a bodyguard, to provide physical security to US Embassy and consular officers and visiting American dignitaries, US officials who declined to be identified told Reuters.
Officials strongly denied news reports alleging Davis was part of a covert CIA-led team of operatives conducting surveillance on militant groups.
US officials have complained for days that security conditions under which Davis has been held have put his life in grave danger. Pakistan said on Monday it was taking steps to keep Davis safe.
Two US sources familiar with the matter confirmed to Reuters that Davis, worked previously on contract as a security officer for Xe Services, a controversial private contractor formerly known as Blackwater.
Asked during a conference call with reporters about a link between Davis and the CIA, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said: “We will not comment on his particular activity in Pakistan other than to say he is a member of the administrative and technical staff of the embassy and has diplomatic immunity.”
“From that point…he enjoyed privileges and immunities against local criminal law, including inviolability of person, inviolability from arrest and detention, and immunity from criminal jurisdiction,” another senior US official said.
The official said the United States was trying to work out a diplomatic solution to the disagreement but noted it could take the matter to the International Court of Justice.
Crowley said the United States was not considering curtailing economic or military assistance to Pakistan to show its displeasure over Davis’ treatment.
Concerns over security
While some Pakistani officials have signalled they would like to back Davis’s immunity, the government so far has said local courts must decide. Last week, the Lahore court delayed a hearing on whether Davis had immunity until March 14, prolonging the diplomatic standoff and stoking concerns for his safety.
Prison sources in Lahore said surveillance cameras were monitoring the area where Davis has been locked in a cell isolated from other prisoners.
Thirty-six unarmed guards, who Pakistani officials say have been specially screened, are standing watch in shifts of eight.
Outside the Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore, where protesters have demanded Davis be publicly hanged, some 75 police officers, a team of provincial rangers and vehicles packed with elite forces were deployed.
Abdul Samad, a deputy prosecutor-general in Lahore, told Reuters the first hearing in Davis’ murder trial would be held inside the jail for “security reasons”.
The United States holds Pakistan’s government fully responsible for Davis’ safety, spokesman Crowley said.
Shooting incident
A US source familiar with other official reporting from Pakistan said that according to Davis’ account of the shooting incident, two men on a motorbike cornered him and pulled a gun on him as he was driving on a street in Lahore.
The source said Davis, believing his life was in danger, drew his weapon and shot the men through the window of his car. At some point, the source said, Davis got out of his car and used his mobile phone to take pictures of the assailants.
He took the pictures to corroborate his story about what had happened, the source said.
US sources denied reports and rumours in Pakistan suggesting Davis’ assailants had some connection with Pakistan’s principal intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence directorate, also known as the ISI.
With cooperation from ISI elements, the US government, including the CIA, has for the past several years been attacking militants in Pakistani tribal areas using missiles fired from remotely piloted drone aircraft.
Relations between ISI and its US counterparts have deteriorated since an incident last year in which the name of the CIA’s undercover station chief in Pakistan was leaked to local media, resulting in the official having to make a hasty exit from the country.
Awesome
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Keep hoping...
The court proceedings are going on. They will keep the entire nation gripped to all the developments. Once that immunity thing is out of the way, thats it, no foreign power, no national power will have any option than to listen to the court.
VCheng
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I agree that court proceedings must be respected. But please note the news stories I have just posted above, where the government will seek international counsel for an opinion to be presented to the court, which will then make the final determination of immunity, with the CIA angle not playing a role probably.
I am sure due to the importance of this case, we can wait for those formal and official pronouncements. It is only a few weeks more.
SekrutYakhni
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The fact of the matter is, American and Pakistani governments lied. First he was an ordinary citizen, than a technical staff member, a diplomat and now a CIA Agent. Regardless of America and Pakistan not wanting to blow his cover, they forgot the pressure from people and court. Now, they are just suffering the consequences.
Good luck.
VCheng
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Whatever has happened to get to this point is water under the bridge, I think that allowing the formal legal process to move forward with dignity and independence is key if the results are to be respected by all sides.
ashok321
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Awesome
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The only way Raymond Davis walks out of Pakistan peacefully is for a court to acquit him after facing trail. If he walks out on immunity, then there will be an uproar. I imagine in that case they would do an video conference in the court with Raymond not physically present and on being given immunity he would be flown out immediately.
I just hope the protesters keep that in mind and make an attempt to not let him be sneaked out without even the immunity decision put on trial... It will require a mammothian effort to do this against the wishes of a government hell bent on releasing him, but it can be done.
Seizing the airport is not so hard, I participated in a protest in which we did just that, that too Lahore Airport! Faced with enormous odds against corrupt authorities thats your right as a citizen!
I just hope the protesters keep that in mind and make an attempt to not let him be sneaked out without even the immunity decision put on trial... It will require a mammothian effort to do this against the wishes of a government hell bent on releasing him, but it can be done.
Seizing the airport is not so hard, I participated in a protest in which we did just that, that too Lahore Airport! Faced with enormous odds against corrupt authorities thats your right as a citizen!
First his release was predicted by Indians in 5-10 days, then it was 2-3 weeks, now it's 1-2 months. lol great.
Read this twisting here......spy on Al Qeada and Militants ?? What i saw newspaper earlier in this article it says Davis spy on militants and photography....Ahh, it is now deleted few lines.
Disclosure that arrested US official worked for CIA will complicate diplomatic crisis
WASHINGTONAn American jailed in Pakistan for the fatal shooting of two armed men was secretly working for the CIA and scouting a neighbourhood when he was arrested, a disclosure likely to further frustrate U.S. government efforts to free the man and strain relations between two countries partnered in a fragile alliance in the war on terror.
Raymond Allen Davis, 36, had been working as a CIA security contractor and living in a Lahore safe house, according to former and current U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they werent authorized to talk publicly about the incident.
Davis, a former Special Forces soldier who left the military in 2003, shot the men in what he described as an attempted armed robbery in the eastern city of Lahore as they approached him on a motorcycle. A third Pakistani, a bystander, died when a car rushing to help Davis struck him. Davis was carrying a Glock handgun, a pocket telescope and papers with different identifications.
Meanwhile, the Obama administration insisted anew Monday that Davis had diplomatic immunity and must be set free.
In a hastily arranged conference call with reporters shortly after details of Davis employment were reported, senior State Department officials repeated the administrations stance that he is an accredited member of the technical and administrative staff of the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad. They said the Pakistani government had been informed of his status in January 2010 and that Pakistan is violating its international obligations by continuing to hold him.
The officials would not comment on Davis employment but said it was irrelevant to the case because Pakistan had not rejected his status. The officials spoke only on grounds of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.
The revelation that Davis was an employee of the CIA comes amid a tumultuous dispute over whether he is immune from criminal prosecution under international rules enacted to protect diplomats overseas. New protests in Pakistan erupted after The Guardian newspaper in London decided to publish details about Davis relationship with the CIA.
A U.S. official says Davis is being held at a jail on the outskirts of Lahore where there are serious doubts about whether the Pakistanis can truly protect him. The official says the Pakistanis have expressed similar concerns to the U.S.
A senior Pakistani intelligence official said the government had taken measures to ensure the safety of Davis, stepping up security at the facility, removing certain inmates from the prison and sending a contingent of well-trained paramilitaries known as the Rangers.
Since Pakistani authorities took the ex-Special Forces soldier into custody Jan. 27, U.S. officials said, the situation has slowly escalated into a crisis, threatening the CIAs ability to wage a dangerous war against Al Qaeda and militants. Some members of Congress have threatened to cut off the billions in funding to Pakistan if Davis isnt released.
Disclosure that arrested US official worked for CIA will complicate diplomatic crisis
WASHINGTONAn American jailed in Pakistan for the fatal shooting of two armed men was secretly working for the CIA and scouting a neighbourhood when he was arrested, a disclosure likely to further frustrate U.S. government efforts to free the man and strain relations between two countries partnered in a fragile alliance in the war on terror.
Raymond Allen Davis, 36, had been working as a CIA security contractor and living in a Lahore safe house, according to former and current U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they werent authorized to talk publicly about the incident.
Davis, a former Special Forces soldier who left the military in 2003, shot the men in what he described as an attempted armed robbery in the eastern city of Lahore as they approached him on a motorcycle. A third Pakistani, a bystander, died when a car rushing to help Davis struck him. Davis was carrying a Glock handgun, a pocket telescope and papers with different identifications.
Meanwhile, the Obama administration insisted anew Monday that Davis had diplomatic immunity and must be set free.
In a hastily arranged conference call with reporters shortly after details of Davis employment were reported, senior State Department officials repeated the administrations stance that he is an accredited member of the technical and administrative staff of the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad. They said the Pakistani government had been informed of his status in January 2010 and that Pakistan is violating its international obligations by continuing to hold him.
The officials would not comment on Davis employment but said it was irrelevant to the case because Pakistan had not rejected his status. The officials spoke only on grounds of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.
The revelation that Davis was an employee of the CIA comes amid a tumultuous dispute over whether he is immune from criminal prosecution under international rules enacted to protect diplomats overseas. New protests in Pakistan erupted after The Guardian newspaper in London decided to publish details about Davis relationship with the CIA.
A U.S. official says Davis is being held at a jail on the outskirts of Lahore where there are serious doubts about whether the Pakistanis can truly protect him. The official says the Pakistanis have expressed similar concerns to the U.S.
A senior Pakistani intelligence official said the government had taken measures to ensure the safety of Davis, stepping up security at the facility, removing certain inmates from the prison and sending a contingent of well-trained paramilitaries known as the Rangers.
Since Pakistani authorities took the ex-Special Forces soldier into custody Jan. 27, U.S. officials said, the situation has slowly escalated into a crisis, threatening the CIAs ability to wage a dangerous war against Al Qaeda and militants. Some members of Congress have threatened to cut off the billions in funding to Pakistan if Davis isnt released.
Hammy007
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how do you know???? this indians really piss us off.. bakwas hi q na kerni ho, you will still make your presence here hain bharti??? bhai hamara baa.p matt bn!!! plzz
maybe you have information from RAW
---------- Post added at 03:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:21 PM ----------
you know how RAW works!!!!!!
VCheng
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Well, the issue of immunity has to be resolved if the trial is to proceed at all, let alone talk of acquittal or conviction.
Let's see what the Federal government offers as the official position on that matter, given that moves to seek impartial international legal counsel are already underway between now and 14th March.
American Eagle
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This business about a "few deleted lines" is pointless and seems a weak attempt to create fabricated attempts to blame the real victum of this entire failed robbery which is Mr. Davis, who defended himself from unexpected and unwarranted armed robbery attempt on his person.
If you want to deal in missed stories start writing about the innocent decent Pakistanis daily being blown up by the suicide terrorst bombers.
If you want to deal in missed stories start writing about the innocent decent Pakistanis daily being blown up by the suicide terrorst bombers.
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