The ghost at the feast
US army contractor Raymond Davis was arrested and charged with the murder of two young motorcyclists in Lahore in January 2011. The PPP government was accused of bending to US pressure to maintain a soft visa policy. Prime Minister Gilani however denied this. His government, he told NA, will not compromise on the country’s sovereignty and dignity and court will decide about immunity to Davis. The FO told LHC that there was no record regarding Davis’ immunity with the foreign office. The court rejected the plea for diplomatic immunity and ruled that Davis could not leave Pakistan while Advocate General Punjab stated that Davis’ name had been added to the ECL.
President Obama intervened on Davis’ behalf citing the Vienna Convention. The US put all bilateral contacts with Pakistan on hold pending Davis’ release. Pakistan was told the dispute could affect three major events planned that year: President Zardari’s visit to Washington, the next round of US-Pakistan strategic dialogue and Pak-Afghan-US trilateral talks. Sen. Kerry reportedly contacted Hussain Haqqani in Washington and then visited Lahore. While both the government and LHC remained adamant there were reports of a likely breakthrough in ISI-CIA talks. Both were reportedly close to a reset in their knotty relations. Despite the federal government and Lahore High Court refusing to accept the plea of diplomatic immunity and his name being on the ECL Davis was released and straightway flown back to the US. Shahbaz Sharif denied rumours about Punjab government’s role in talking to the successors of the youth shot by Davis.
In his recently published account Raymond Davis gives full credit for his release to the then ISI chief Gen Shuja Pasha. According to him the victims’ relatives were coerced into accepting blood money. Pasha got the original prosecutor replaced with Raja Irshad who worked for ISI. When the court released Davis, he was immediately handed over by Pasha’s men to the US officials who took him straight to the airport. Three months later US seals killed OBL in Abbottabad, with Gen Pasha blaming PPP government of lax visa policy.
