LAHORE/ISLAMABAD – US Senator John Kerry said on Tuesday Raymond Davis, an American national detained in Pakistan on charges of double murder, will be subjected to a criminal investigation by the US Department of Justice, however he enjoys immunity under the Vienna Conventions of 1961 as he was working as a diplomat with the US embassy in Islamabad.
In a roundtable meeting with a small group of journalists from the print media, he said the US diplomat fired in self defence and was therefore entitled to immunity. It may be recalled that Kerry’s statement is in contradiction with the US’ government’s earlier claims that Davis was an employee of the US Consulate in Lahore.
In this case Davis comes under the Vienna Coventions of 1963 in which there’s no immunity for foreigners in heinous crimes such as murder. The US senator said he had specific proposals to resolve the impasse between the two governments, but he refused to disclose them until his meeting with President Asif Zardari today (Wednesday).
To a question about the US consulate persons who ran over a youth while ostensibly attempting to rescue Davis, Kerry said “this issue will not go unaddressed”. Asked if the crisis lingered on, he said that three congressmen had moved a resolution to cut financial assistance to Pakistan but he and Hillary Clinton had defused the situation for now. “But if we cannot get it sensibly done I cannot predict what can happen,” he said.
Meanwhile, addressing representatives of the electronic media, Kerry said that one should keep the larger picture in mind before jumping on the conclusions, as both countries were fighting to achieve some common interests.”We cannot allow someone to break the mutual bonds,” Kerry said, stressing the need of not allowing a single incident to divert the focus of larger issues like fight against militancy and energy crisis prevailing in Pakistan.
He called for respecting the Vienna Convention, signed by the 200 countries including Pakistan, saying it was not an issue of American preference or privilege. He regretted the killing of the three Pakistani youths, saying the US felt sorry over the incident.
He said the statements given by PPP Information Secretary Fauzia Wahab and Interior Minister Rehman Malik should be given importance as they made it clear that they had sufficient documentary evidence of Davis’ diplomatic status. Citing cooperation in energy and infrastructure-building, he said the US wanted to durable and long-term people-to-people relationship with Pakistan.
“I’m not here to dictate or order anything to Pakistan…I’ve come here as a friend to help resolve the issue,” he said. Kerry is scheduled to hold crucial talks with Pakistan’s civilian and military leaders today (Wednesday) in Islamabad. The leading US senator also made a phone call to former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi before his travel to Pakistan and discussed with him the contentious issue of Davis.
In a related development, American authorities are preparing a petition to be filed for his release in the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday. US State Department spokesman Philip J Crowley told reporters in the US capital that the US government would file a petition for Davis’ release in a court on Thursday and provide evidence regarding his diplomatic immunity, according to press reports.
