Whatever credibility the US had amongst ordinary Pakistanis has been inexorably eroded by the Raymond Davis incident. The American, certainly not a diplomat in the traditional sense of the term, by his act of murdering two Pakistanis has unwittingly unleashed currents and cross-currents which have exposed the inherent weaknesses in Islamabads strategic partnership with Washington.
The manner in which the US has gone about seeking the release of its citizen and the refusal of its Lahore consulate to hand over those who crushed to death an innocent person under their car smacks of sheer arrogance and utter disregard for the Pakistani public opinion.
US analysts often wonder why their approval rating is so low in Pakistan despite all that they have done in their own esteem to help its people. Unfortunately, despite spending billions, they have not been able to shake off the stigma of the ugly American thanks to the overbearing nature of US foreign policy.
Since the incident, Washington has threatened Islamabad in different ways. This includes snubbing foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi that he need not attend the recently held Munich security moot as the US secretary for state Hillary Clinton will not meet him as a mark of protest against the continued incarceration of Davis.
The crucial US-Pak-Afghan trilateral moot that was scheduled for later this month has reportedly been put off and it has been conveyed to Islamabad that the foreign ministers of the three countries will only meet once the issue of release of Raymond Davis is resolved. Asconveyed by visiting US congressmen, even the assistance under the Kerry Lugar bill is in jeopardy.
While the US is trying its best to spring Raymond Davis from a Punjab jail by bullying and blackmailing Pakistan under the garb of diplomatic immunity, his status has become increasingly murky and mysterious. It is obvious that he is a highly trained and ruthless operative working under dubious diplomatic cover.
According to media reports, the US embassy in Islamabad claimed that Davis was a hired employee of a US security company called Hyperion Protective Consultants located in Orlando, Florida. However, a US based journal, Counter Punch, in a special investigative report, has discovered that no such company exists in Florida.
When a reporter visited the address, he found an empty storefront with an empty counter and empty shelves. According to the leasing company handling the property, it was never leased to Hyperion consultants. It is obvious that Mr Davis credentials are fake. He is either a CIA operative working under diplomatic cover or working as a mercenary for Xe, the reincarnation of the notorious Blackwater.
Even if Washingtons assertion that Davis is a diplomat is accepted at face value, at the most he can be categorised as an employee of the US consulate in Lahore. It is being thus claimed that Pakistan is violating the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963 by consistently refusing to hand over Davis.
However in the eyes of the Pakistan Foreign Office, the Convention clearly states that, Consular officers shall not be liable to arrest or detention pending trial, except in the case of a grave crime and pursuant to a decision by the competent judicial authority. Hence Islamabads stance and, for that matter, of the Punjab government is perfectly within the ambit of international law.
Mr Davis committed a grave crime and a competent court of the land is trying him. And it is beyond doubt that Davis committed a double murder in broad daylight in front of scores of witnesses at a busy thoroughfare in Lahore. What was he doing in the middle of Mozang Chungi armed to the teeth with a Glock pistol and a Berretta in a rented Civic is still shrouded in mystery.
According to some reports, he had lunch with some contacts before the incident took place. It is also in doubt that the two young motorcyclists who allegedly accosted him were robbers. It is being speculated that they were intelligence operatives simply trailing his movements.
By some estimates, there are scores of Davises roaming around major cities of Pakistan under the garb of being diplomats. This is in addition to the CIA agents who work undercover in Pakistan. Obviously, in its anxiety to make US cities safe from terrorists, the US no longer trusts our spies. Hence the place is now infested with its own. This is not very reassuring for the ordinary citizen already suffering at the hands of the twin menace of religious extremism and terrorism.
The blame lies squarely with our own government that has issued visas en masse to such fly-by-night operators to demonstrate its commitment towards the joint war against terrorism. Given that Pakistan-US relations are mostly based upon duplicity and doublespeak, this is not surprising. For example, notwithstanding our official denials, it is the least kept secret that Drone attacks take place with our logistic support and connivance.
Initially perhaps the government could have taken a lenient view of the situation and could have handed over Davis to his handlers. But after the suicide of the widow of one of the victims of Davis, it has become impossible to surrender him without incurring the wrath of the increasingly vocal public and the media. The refusal of the US consulate to hand over the driver and the vehicle, which mauled an innocent passerby in its anxiety to rescue Davis, has further enraged public opinion.
The issue has become a cause clbre for the US authorities. It has been even leaked to the Pakistani media that the scheduled visit of President Zardari to Washington next month could be in jeopardy. In Afghanistan, the stakes are high for Washington, and Pakistan has a pivotal role to play in its exit strategy. Hence, there are serious limits to which Washington can drive Islamabad to the wall.
On the other hand, an impoverished and deeply fragmented Pakistan is not in a position to deal a very strong hand to the US either. It can only hope that the courts will evolve a modus vivendi acceptable to both and realpolitik will prevail over jingoism. In the meanwhile, the COAS General Ashfaq Kayani is absolutely right in asserting that Pakistan is the most bullied US ally.
The writer is Editor, Pakistan Today.