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                        <title>The Express Tribune</title>
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                        <description>The Express Tribune keeps you up to date with all the latest happenings from Pakistan and across the world!</description>
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			<title>Denver judge to deliberate whether to hear Raymond Davis assault case</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/499011/denver-judge-to-deliberate-whether-to-hear-raymond-davis-assault-case</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/499011/denver-judge-to-deliberate-whether-to-hear-raymond-davis-assault-case#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 25 Jan 13 18:14:45 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
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				<![CDATA[Davis was arrested in October 2011 for a fistfight at a shopping centre in Denver.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Raymond Davis, the CIA contractor embroiled in a day time street shooting in Lahore in January 2011, will find out on Friday whether he will see once again find himself in a court room, though this time the charges may not be as serious.

Fox31 reported on Friday that a Denver judge is due to deliberate whether to hear a case and decide if a trial will follow in February over a shopping centre fistfight involving Davis.

The CIA contractor was arrested in October 2011 for a fistfight outside a shopping centre in Denver. He was charged with second degree assault and disorderly conduct after getting into a fight over a parking space with Jeff Maes. David is accused of causing injuries to Maes in the fight.

In January 2011, Davis was charged with murder of two men in Lahore. He was later released, after US government paid $2 million in compensation, under certain provisions of Pakistani law, to the family of the deceased, paving way for his release and return to the US.]]>
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			<title>Tribune’s Gamechangers 2011: Raymond Davis</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/317543/tribune%e2%80%99s-gamechangers-2011-raymond-davis</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/317543/tribune%e2%80%99s-gamechangers-2011-raymond-davis#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 08 Jan 12 10:10:55 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[He came. He saw. He shot.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[The shooting of two men in the busy streets of Lahore by Raymond Davis – a US citizen who turned out to be a CIA contractor was a defining moment of 2011, and one of the forerunners in a series of events that damaged Pak-US relations, perhaps forever.

Jailed in Pakistan for double murder and illegal possession of a firearm, Davis was a diplomatic nightmare and a dream come true for every conspiracy theorist in Pakistan.

The CIA contractor’s case raised serious questions about diplomatic immunity under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, however, all such debate was cut ever-controversially short following his sudden exit from the country after payment of diyya (compensation money) to the victims’ families.

The Davis fiasco was also cited by former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi as his reason for leaving his post and the PPP.

Quote of the year: “If Pakistani courts cannot punish Davis then they should hand him over to us” – Tehreek-e-Taliban Spokesperson Azam Tariq]]>
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			<title>Faizan’s family returns, buys house and car</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/165222/faizan%e2%80%99s-family-returns-buys-house-and-car</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/165222/faizan%e2%80%99s-family-returns-buys-house-and-car#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 09 May 11 19:03:14 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=165222</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Families of Raymond Davis' victims had gone &quot;underground&quot; after the diyat payment.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Family members of Faizan Haider, who was killed by Raymond Davis last January, have returned to their home in Ferozwala.

The family returns after staying at an unidentified location for several months. The families of Faizan Haider and Faheem Shamshad had gone missing following the diyat payment on behalf of Raymond Davis on March 15.

A team of Express News went to their house but were prevented by other relatives from contacting any member of the family.

Sources reported that the family had bought a brand new car and a house in Ferozwala area near Lahore. Ferozwala is a suburban area having farmland and expansive houses.

Haider and Shehzad were shot dead in Qurtaba Chowk, Lahore by a US contractor, Raymond Davis. During the inquest, representatives of Davis submitted documents proving that as per Pakistani law, blood money had been paid to each of the grieved families, nullifying the need for a trial.

&nbsp;]]>
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			<title>Qurtaba Chowk shooting: Widow of Davis victim living in Lahore</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/142491/qurtaba-chowk-shooting-widow-of-davis-victim-living-in-lahore</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/142491/qurtaba-chowk-shooting-widow-of-davis-victim-living-in-lahore#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 04 Apr 11 04:06:10 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[rana.tanveer]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Punjab]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=142491</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Family moved back with US help after media found Faheem’s family in Faisalabad.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The widow of one of the men gunned down by CIA contractor Raymond Davis is living in this city with her family in a house rented out by the US Consulate, The Express Tribune has learnt.


Zahra, widow of Faizan Haider, her parents, brother and five sisters recently left the house for a week, but moved back in for security reasons after the media found the family of Faheem Shamshad, the second Davis victim, in Faisalabad, a close relative of Zahra’s family told The Express Tribune.

The families of Faizan and Faheem have been in hiding – they were initially reported by the media to have been whisked away abroad   since they agreed to pardon Davis in a diyat settlement on March 16. Of the total Rs200 million payment, Zahra received Rs25 million.

Zahra’s relative said that US Consulate officials had asked the family to leave the rented house, where they had been staying since March 15, just over a week ago, thinking that the anger over Davis’ release had subsided.

During this week, they visited relatives in Lahore and Jhelum, but not their own house near Ferozewala police station, he said. The police personnel deployed at that house since March 16 were removed three days ago.

The relative, who represented Zahra in talks over the deal with consulate representatives, said that the Rs25 million Faizan’s widow received was lying in a bank locker because she did not have an account. He said her father, who had been working in Dubai, had come back after the settlement and had received Zahra’s share of the blood money.

He said so far the best rate offered by a bank was a Rs83,000 per month return on a deposit of Rs10 million. “They are thinking about it but might not deposit it in the bank as it is un-Islamic,” he said.

He lamented that the details of the settlement had been made public and blamed US authorities for this, saying that “representatives of the accused” had assured them that the deal would remain confidential. “Now it is the talk of the town and everyone knows the A to Z of the deal,” he said.

He said the money was also a burden as the family feared being targeted by extortionists and extremists. “We are not worried about the public in general, just about criminals,” he said, adding that there had been a “Taliban warning” in the newspaper as well.

He said none of the families involved in the diyat settlement had left the country. The families of Zahra, Faizan and Faheem are all still in Pakistan and are living under the supervision of authorities, he said.

He said he did not know who had acted as emissary between the victims and the accused in the Davis case. Men claiming to represent the accused first contacted Imran, Faizan’s brother, who then got in touch with Zahra’s family and Faheem’s family. He did not know if any Pakistani officials were involved in the deal.

He said Zahra’s family had received menacing anonymous phone calls advising them to accept the deal for the benefit of Pakistan. He said the callers would tell them that their survival was in Pakistan’s survival and so they should cooperate. He said he had been offered Rs2.5 million through an acquaintance, but he refused the offer. Future settlement offers then came through Imran, he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 4th,  2011.]]>
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			<title>Lawyers harass Davis case judge</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/141909/lawyers-harass-davis-case-judge</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/141909/lawyers-harass-davis-case-judge#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 03 Apr 11 04:38:00 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Rana Yasif]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Punjab]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=141909</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Lawyers vandalise judge’s nameplate, vow to force his transfer.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Muhammad Yousaf Aujla, the additional district and sessions judge who handled the diyat case of Raymond Davis, faces harassment from lawyers angry at his role in the release of the American CIA contractor, The Express Tribune has learnt.


A group of lawyers gathered outside his courtroom last Thursday and chanted slogans against the judge. They also vandalised the sign bearing his name at the entrance to the courtroom, pasting ‘American Court of Injustice’ and ‘Justice Seller’ on the name plate.

“We have sent him a message that we haven’t forgotten his decision against the country,” said one of the lawyers involved in the action, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Some members of the Lahore Bar Association (LBA) said they would not allow the “pro-American” judge to continue in his post. “We will start a movement to force his transfer, like we did before with the sessions judge,” one lawyer said, referring to Judge Zawar Hussain, who was transferred from the post of Lahore district and sessions judge after protests by lawyers.

Aujla appeared to have expected an angry reaction from some lawyers. He went on leave for three days after Davis was released on March 16, a court staffer said. Before returning, he called up the staffer three times to ask the mood among lawyers concerning Davis’ release. The staffer told him that the reaction was subdued.

Chanting lawyers

The staffer said that last Thursday, the judge was hearing a murder case when the group of lawyers approached the court. Hearing them chant slogans outside, the judge slipped away into his retiring room.

“They never came inside,” the staffer said.

However, they did glue a piece of paper to the judge’s nameplate making plain what they thought of his handling of the Davis case.

The staffer said that they did not notice the vandalism until a few hours later when it was pointed out by staffers from another courtroom. They then removed it, though traces of the white paper stuck to the sign remain.

LBA president Shehzad Hassan Shaikh said that he was unaware of the incident, but if one of the association’s members was involved in Thursday’s protest, the LBA would investigate.

Aujla is in the process of being investigated by a Member of the Inspection Team of the LHC after a complaint was received about him. The Supreme Court has also sought a copy of the report. Several petitions are pending in the LHC questioning the proceedings in the Davis case.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 03rd, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Davis victim’s family buy house in Toba</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/141941/davis-victim%e2%80%99s-family-buy-house-in-toba</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/141941/davis-victim%e2%80%99s-family-buy-house-in-toba#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 03 Apr 11 04:35:38 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[mohammad.hussain]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Punjab]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=141941</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[An uncle of the deceased says family is in hiding for security reasons.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Rumours and speculation regarding an immigration deal struck between the family of Fahim, killed by CIA contractor Raymond Davis continue to emerge.


On Friday, Fahim’s family issued a statement through their uncle Abdul Khaliq regarding their whereabouts. “They have been receiving death threats and have been hiding. They came here a couple of days ago, escorted by police,” Khaliq said.

Fahim’s brother Waseem has reportedly purchased a house near his grandparent’s property in Toba Tek Singh’s tehsil Pir Mahal’s Chak 663 as well as a new car.

The family said that they feared for their lives after the blood money settlement and payment to them on Raymond Davis’s behalf.

Waseem’s grand parents and uncle Abdul Khaliq stated that police officials had now escorted the family to Lahore for production before a High Court judge hearing a petition agitating their disappearance and demanding their recovery.

“There were reports that they were off to US but none of that is true. They have been in hiding for security reasons,” Khaliq told the press.

The family are currently at their home town in Toba Tek Singh. “They are not in America or Saudi Arabia but in their hometown Toba Tek Singh,” he said.

Khaliq, however, would not say that the family had planned to settle down in the district. “They are considering moving here but no final decision has been made,” he said.

Neighbours said Fahim’s brother Akram and Wasim, as well as  their mother had met their grandfather recently and that there were reports they would soon be moving to the district for good.

“They have bought a large house here. Waseem has previously worked here as a clerk for lawyer Riaz Khan,” said a neighbour Salman Asif. Other residents in the area said that they expected the family to shift to the village as soon as they felt safe enough to do so.

Waseem’s relative Reham Din said that his father had also visited the village 10 days ago.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 03rd, 2011]]>
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			<title>‘Faheem’s family in Faisalabad’</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/141618/davis-release-victims-family-hiding-in-pakistan</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/141618/davis-release-victims-family-hiding-in-pakistan#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 02 Apr 11 14:54:07 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[shamsul.naz]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=141618</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Residents say govt and police are aware of the family’s whereabouts.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The family of Faheem, one of the men shot dead by CIA agent Raymond Davis, is now reportedly settled in Punjab’s Toba Tek Singh district.


The family had disappeared after the release of Raymond Davis and the payment of diyat or blood money. Sources said Faheem’s brothers Akram, Saleem and Waseem, their parents and a sister are living with Muhammad Riaz Sampal, the deputy district attorney of Toba Tek Singh.

While locals confirmed that the family was living with the lawyer, Sampal told reporters on Friday that he had no clue about the family’s whereabouts. Residents also believe that government agencies and the police are aware that Sampal is sheltering the family. A special police van and armed commandoes have been deputed outside Sampal’s house, sources said.

Faheem’s family hails from the area and some of their relatives still live in their native homes. Ten years ago, Waseem worked as a tea boy at a stall in Peer Mehal Katchery and then as an office boy in Sampal’s law chambers. Three years later, Waseem found a job in Lahore and the family moved.

Akram, Faheem’s other brother said he has been residing here since the release of Davis, but did not confirm the presence of any other family member. Akram said his family received payment of blood-money to save Pakistan because the government had decided to release the US national.

For security reasons, the family is still in hiding, Akram said.“We were told that we may be threatened from groups, who were vigorously opposing the release of Davis, he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 03rd, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Davis’s release reply sought from federal, Punjab governments</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/139746/davis%e2%80%99s-release-reply-sought-from-federal-punjab-governments</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/139746/davis%e2%80%99s-release-reply-sought-from-federal-punjab-governments#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 30 Mar 11 03:42:08 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Punjab]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=139746</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Petition seeks explanation from Babar Awan, Shahbaz Sharif and others on involvement in Davis's release]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday sought replies from the federal and provincial governments on a petition seeking an explanation from the Federal Law Minister, Babar Awan, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Yousaf Aujla and others for allegedly facilitating Raymond Davis’s release.

The petitioner, Advocate Javed Iqbal Jafree, said that the LHC had issued orders to put Davis’s name on the exit control list (ECL), which was also violated by the respondents. The petitioner requested the court to seek affidavits from the aforementioned officials as well as Federal Law Secretary Pir Masood Chishti and lawyers Zahid Hussain Bukhari and Raja Irshad if they had prior knowledge about the deal. Barrister Jaffree said that the LHC order of putting Davis’s name on the ECL was still in place. He said the government had not asked the LHC for its permission before making the release. The petitioner said that Davis was allowed to leave the country in violation of the court order. Justice Chaudhry Iftikhar Hussain adjourned further proceedings for March 31.


Published in The Express Tribune, March 30th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Punjab Assembly: Opposition sulks, ensures there is no business</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/139745/punjab-assembly-opposition-sulks-ensures-there-is-no-business</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/139745/punjab-assembly-opposition-sulks-ensures-there-is-no-business#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 30 Mar 11 03:32:22 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[abdul.manan]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Punjab]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=139745</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Basra says he will prove the CM was involved in Davis’s release.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Several opposition members in the Punjab Assembly (PA) said on Tuesday that Chief Minister (CM) Shahbaz Sharif should have given his statement regarding the non-involvement of his government in American national Raymond Davis’s release in the house.


The CM, on Monday, had held a press briefing at his office where he had said that if he or any official in his government was found involved in the deal leading to Davis’s release, he would resign from office.

Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP’s) deputy parliamentary leader Shaukat Mehmood Basra, on a point of order, had said that Sharif did not have the courage to face the opposition so had instead used the media to plead his innocence. He said he would prove the CM’s involvement in Davis’s release. Law Minister Rana Sanaullah, Basra added, too had been involved in Davis’s release.

At this point, members from the treasury benches stood up and raised slogans. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N’s) MPAs alleged that PPP’s Uzma Bukhari’s father Zahid Bukhari had been paid $100,000 as Davis’s counsel. They said the PPP should clean its own house before making allegations against the PML-N.

Bukhari then stood in front of the speaker’s desk and protested. PPP’s Ashraf Sohna and Basra and some others, rushed to the speaker’s dais and tried to clash with her. Deputy Speaker Rana Mashhood’s timely intervention prevented a clash.

After the prayer interval, the speaker adjourned the session till Wednesday at 10 am.

The session had started an hour late at around 11 am. The opposition benches had tried to speak on points of order but the speaker refused to allow them. They boycotted the house. During Question Hour, PPP’s Faiza Malik pointed out the quorum which was found lacking. The speaker ordered that the bell be rung for five minutes. The session resumed when more treasury benches returned to complete quorum.

The speaker then sent Ahmad Ali Aulakh to bring the opposition members to the house and started questions regarding the Industries, Commerce and Investment Departments. Parliamentary secretary Rana Tajammul Hussain responded to the questions.

After 20 minutes, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid-i-Azam’s Samia Amjad pointed out the quorum. The treasury benches resumed the earlier exercise and the session resumed. The opposition benches then came in along with Aulakh.

Hussain told the house that the government had started the Punjab Food Stamp Scheme (PFSS) for people below the poverty line. He said that under the scheme every MPA had been given 5,000 forms which were distributed on the recommendation of coordinators at the Union Council level in a transparent manner.

PML-Q’s Seemal Kamran asked about the legal status of the local government coordinator but Hussain could not answer the question to her satisfaction. Kamran said that PFSS has failed due to these coordinators, posts which the government had awarded to party activists.

After the session ended, Basra spoke with the media in front of the PA and alleged that the PML-N was trying to malign the Pakistan Army in the release of Raymond Davis. He said first the PML-N had tried to persuade the military to support it in toppling the federal government and when this attempt failed, it had changed its stance and begun a hate campaign against the Army.

He said that Nawaz Sharif had squandered the Kargil war victory and bowed before the US. He said that Sharif had maligned the Army then as now. He said the PPP respected the Army which was fighting a war in the Tribal Areas of the country.

Basra alleged that Sanaullah had threatened PPP members that if they did not stop speaking up in the house, FIRs would be lodged against them.

Sanaullah, speaking to the media later, rejected the allegations. He said that Punjab government would stand by its stance that it was not involved in any deal making regarding Davis. 

Published in The Express Tribune, March 30th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Raymond Davis pardon: Shahbaz says he will resign if his govt’s involvement proven</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/139127/raymond-davis-pardon-shahbaz-says-he-will-resign-if-his-govt%e2%80%99s-involvement-proven</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/139127/raymond-davis-pardon-shahbaz-says-he-will-resign-if-his-govt%e2%80%99s-involvement-proven#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 29 Mar 11 04:19:02 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[abdul.manan]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=139127</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Provincial govt tells LHC it is unaware of the whereabouts of the missing families of the Qurtaba Chowk victims.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Monday insisted that if allegations about his or his government’s involvement in the release of Raymond Davis proved to be correct, he would not only resign, but also formally apologise to the nation.


He said that the provincial government had nothing to do with the release of the US national, contacting the victims’ families for payment of blood money or influencing the outcome of the court case in this regard.

He said that the Punjab government and PML-N had played no direct or indirect role in releasing Davis. He said that the provincial government had taken a firm stand in the court on this issue.

He reminded that after the Davis incident, he had unequivocally declared that the blood of all Pakistanis was as precious as that of the citizen of any other country.

He said that he was glad that enlightened people, intellectuals and journalists had rejected the negative propaganda churned out against him and his government regarding the Davis incident.

He said that what had happened in Lahore after the incident was unprecedented.

He said that has anyone dared to take action against an American involved in violating the law over the past 63 years in the country? Was an FIR or a case ever registered against any foreigner under Section 302? Has any American ever been kept in prison? Which of the government had the courage to initiate legal proceedings in any such matter? The chief minister said that the Punjab government registered a case against Raymond Davis on the same day and started legal proceedings.

He said that in spite of political pressure, Punjab government showed no flexibility. He said that the passport of Raymond Davis was still held by the Punjab government. He said that he wanted to make it clear that the provincial government’s prosecution team had fiercely resisted the release of the accused, adding that it had raised forceful objections during the hearing of the case.

He said that the team had also requested a two-day adjournment of the proceedings, but the court had rejected the request and ordered the release of the accused. He said that if needed, he would tell what President Zardari had said to the foreigners about him regarding Raymond Davis.

He said that he had to go to London to look after his elder brother and it is unfortunate that some elements had tried to gain political mileage out of this purely humanitarian problem, linking his departure to London with the Raymond Davis issue.

Also on Monday, lawyers representing the Punjab government said that the provincial government did not know the whereabouts of the families of Faizan Haider and Faheem Shamshad, the two men who were killed by US national Raymond Davis, and requested the Lahore High Court (LHC) to ask the federal government about their disappearance.

This was stated in a written reply submitted by the Punjab home secretary before the court of Justice Chaudhry Iftikhar Hussain hearing a habeas corpus petition, which calls for the recovery of the two families.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 29th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Davis' release: Shahbaz offers to resign if accusations proven</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/138848/davis-release-lhc-seeks-govts-reply-about-missing-families</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/138848/davis-release-lhc-seeks-govts-reply-about-missing-families#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 28 Mar 11 09:10:47 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=138848</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Chief Minister Punjab says he will resign if accusations of his involvement in Davis' pardon were proven.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif on Monday offered to resign if  accusations of his involvement in Raymond Davis' pardon were proven.
Addressing a press conference in Lahore, Shahbaz Sharif said that the  Punjab government will continue its probe into the sudden release of Davis. He assured that the Punjab government is looking into the unanswered  questions that have emerged following the CIA contractor's release.
However, Sharif said that the federal government and the victims'  families should be asked questions concerning the blood money that was paid and the  deal that was struck to ensure Davis' release.
The Chief Minister reiterated that his government maintains its  stance over the issue. He said it was in no way involved in the bargaining  process of Davis' release.
LHC seeks govt's reply about missing families
Taking notice of the Punjab Law Minister's claim about the  whereabouts of the missing families of the Lahore shootout victims, the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday sought  a reply from the federal and provincial governments.

Rana Sanaullah had claimed the missing families of Faizan and Fahim who were killed by the CIA contractor Raymond Davis might be hiding in  Rawalpindi.

The Punjab government had submitted a reply on Monday, stating it had no  information regarding the whereabouts of the families. The court, however, asked the federal and Punjab governments to submit  detailed explanations regarding Sanaullah's statement.

The Lahore High Court has adjourned the hearing till April 1 after  issuing notices to the parties.]]>
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			<title>Clinton hints at strains in US ties with Pakistan</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/138771/clinton-hints-at-strains-in-us-ties-with-pakistan</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/138771/clinton-hints-at-strains-in-us-ties-with-pakistan#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 28 Mar 11 04:58:59 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[afp]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=138771</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Islamabad boycotted trilateral meeting in Brussels to protest US drone strike.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described relations between the US and Pakistan on Sunday as “very challenging,” a tacit admission of strained ties between the key allies.


Speaking after Pakistan boycotted a trilateral meeting on Afghanistan in Brussels to protest a drone attack that killed 39 people, Clinton said Islamabad was caught between wanting to help and dealing with its own extremist threat.

“It’s a very challenging relationship, because there have been some problems,” she said in an interview with the American television network ABC’s program “This Week.”

“But I think, on the other hand, we’ve also developed good lines of communication.”

Clinton noted the cooperation of the Pakistani government in securing the release of Raymond Davis, a CIA contractor accused in a double murder.

“We were very appreciative of getting our diplomat out of Pakistan, and that took cooperation by the government of Pakistan,” she said.

Washington always insisted that Davis had diplomatic immunity from prosecution. He was released earlier this month after a payment of $2 million, but Clinton has denied the US paid any compensation.

Sources in Peshawar said 12 Taliban militants were among those killed in the March 17 drone strike on a militant hideout in North Waziristan.

But the US ambassador was called in to meet with foreign secretary Salman Bashir who conveyed "a strong protest" over the attack and demanded an apology and explanation from the US.

“It was evident that the fundamentals of our relations need to be revisited. Pakistan should not be taken for granted nor treated as a client state,” a foreign ministry statement said.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 28th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Davis case: Seek affidavits from leaders, govt officers</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/138309/davis-case-seek-affidavits-from-leaders-govt-officers</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/138309/davis-case-seek-affidavits-from-leaders-govt-officers#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 27 Mar 11 04:33:41 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Punjab]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=138309</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Barrister files a civil miscellaneous application before LHC to seek answers behind release of Raymond Davis.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Barrister Javed Iqbal Jaffree filed a civil miscellaneous (CM) application before Lahore High Court on Saturday requesting the court to seek replies from Federal Law Minister Dr Babar Awan, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Judge Muhammad Yousaf Aujla and others as to why they had facilitated release of Raymond Davis on emergency basis ignoring LHC orders for placing his name on the Exit Control List (ECL).


The petitioner requested the court to order the above named as well as Federal Law Secretary Pir Masood Chishti, Zahid Hussain Bukhari and Raja Irshad on whether or not they had prior knowledge of the diyat settlement and the US citizen’s subsequent release by the trial court.

The petitioner said the LHC had directed the Interior Ministry to place Raymond Davis’s name on the Exit Control List and was assured by a law officer and the ministry concerned that this had been done.

He said that the order was still in place when Davis was allowed to leave the country. Meanwhile, he said, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had claimed that he was not aware of the development. He alleged that the government and its officers had violated court orders.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 27th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Persona non grata: US agrees to recall 331 ‘diplomatic staffers’</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/136830/persona-non-grata-us-agrees-to-recall-331-%e2%80%98diplomatic-staffers%e2%80%99</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/136830/persona-non-grata-us-agrees-to-recall-331-%e2%80%98diplomatic-staffers%e2%80%99#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 24 Mar 11 04:45:35 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[asad.kharal]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=136830</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Most of these persons were found to be involved in espionage activities.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[According to a deal reached between relevant officials of Pakistan and the US in exchange for the release of US national Raymond Davis, as many as 331 US officials, most of whom are suspected of being engaged in espionage under diplomatic cover, have been identified to leave the country.


Pakistani authorities, The Express Tribune learnt, have agreed that these US officials would not be declared 'persona non grata' if they left the country voluntarily within a stipulated time.

Previously, Pakistan was almost ready to summarily expel these persons, who have various levels of diplomatic immunity, as most of them were issued Pakistani visas without getting prior No-Objection Certificates (NOC) following Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), sources familiar with the matter revealed.

According to the Standard Operating Procedures, all embassy and consulate staff  working under different diplomatic covers like contractors, consultants, technicians and administrative staff were required to be vetted by relevant officials before issuing them visas.

Pakistani officials while handing over a list to the US officials had demanded that these US officials should be recalled immediately.

When Pakistan was assured that they will leave the country within the stipulated period, it extended assurances that these US officials will not be declared persona non grata.

This was one of the salient features of the secret deal which is also said to include a substantial increase in aid, weapons and mandatory scrutiny of all persons seeking diplomatic immunity.

Intelligence officials said that Pakistani authorities had been trying to “trap someone to expose the cover of these consultants and technicians in front of the world community and Pakistani people”.

With the help of this achievement, Pakistan has successfully neutralised operatives of ‘friends’ (allies in the war in terrorism) involved in anti-state activities against our sovereignty.

The Express Tribune learnt that Pakistan has devised “an adequate response policy to counter the severity of our friends’ reaction”.

An official, who is privy to these developments, said that most of the suspected persons on the list were “involved in suspicious activities, including photographing and filming of sensitive installations like air bases (Warsak, near Peshawar and Multan), defence bunkers along the Pakistan-India border near Lahore, recruiting persons supporting their activities and launching local people for suspicious activities by offering lucrative benefits”.

Sources familiar with the issue said that Raymond Davis case had firmly established the veracity of some Pakistani authorities’ insistence on stopping “out-of-context additions” of diplomatic immunity in Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 24th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Qurtaba Chowk case: High Court dissatisfied with CCPO’s report</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/136317/qurtaba-chowk-case-high-court-dissatisfied-with-ccpo%e2%80%99s-report</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/136317/qurtaba-chowk-case-high-court-dissatisfied-with-ccpo%e2%80%99s-report#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 22 Mar 11 19:44:12 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Punjab]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=136317</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Counsel asked to argue whether it is the correct forum to hear petition against diyat settlement.]]>
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				<![CDATA[The Lahore High Court on Tuesday called for a report from the Punjab home secretary by March 28 regarding the disappearance of the families of Faizan and Faheem, the two men killed by American national Raymond Davis.


The order was passed by Justice Chaudhry Iftikhar Hussain on a habeas corpus petition filed by Advocate Malik Munsif Awan for the recovery of Faizan and Faheem’s families.

Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Aslam Tareen told the court that the police had no knowledge of the families whereabouts. He said the houses of both families were locked and the neighbours had no knowledge about their whereabouts.

The petitioner-counsel was dissatisfied with the CCPO’s reply and said the police could not be absolved of its responsibility by reporting it had sent out some constables.

He said both these families had a large amount of money which could become a threat to their life.

Assistant Advocate General Wali Khan submitted that the families were free to go anywhere after receiving the diyat.

After hearing the arguments, the court called the CCPO’s reply incomplete and sought a complete report from the Punjab Home Secretary till March 28.

Awan, who had been one of the lawyers for the families, filed the petition submitting that both families had gone missing after Davis’s release.

He feared that somebody had kidnapped them and was keeping them in illegal detention. He submitted that according to the media, the families had Rs200 million paid to them as diyat.

He said there were also apprehensions that they were forced to accept the settlement.

He requested the court to summon the authorities concerned and direct them to recover the families and present them before the court.

Diyat petition

The Lahore High Court on Tuesday asked the petitioner and a provincial law officer to be prepared to argue on the next date of hearing as to whether the court had the jurisdiction to hear the petition which challenged the payment of diyat to the heirs of Faheem and Faizan.

Justice Chaudhry Iftikhar Hussain fixed March 29 as the next date of hearing on the petition filed by Advocate Rana Ilmuddin Ghazi who challenged payment of diyat by “the government of Pakistan”, calling the act illegal, unlawful and un-Islamic.

Ghazi asked the court to initiate proceedings to ascertain who did not charge Davis under the Anti-Terrorism Act and for spying on the state.

The petitioner submitted that the sudden release of Davis left people in shock. He said Davis was involved in anti-Pakistan activities but the investigators did not question him on these matters.

He said his release had left numerous questions in the minds of the people.

Ghazi said the people thought that Inspector General of Police and all other concerned police officials, officials of the Punjab prosecutor’s office, additional District Sessions Judge Yousaf Aujla, the Punjab law minister, and the Punjab Revenue Ministry had failed in fulfilling their responsibilities and crossed limits in helping the release of the accused.

He said the Law Ministry had paid diyat money on behalf of Davis from the national exchequer which the diyat law did not permit.

He said Davis’s name was placed on the Exit Control List on the orders of the Lahore High Court but even so he was sent abroad.

He requested the court to ask the concerned officials why Davis had not been charged under the Anti-Terrorism Act. He requested the court to summon the judicial file and the police file of the case and fix responsibility for these omissions.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 23rd, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Qurtaba chowk case: Where are Faizan’s, Faheem’s familes?</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/136095/qurtaba-chowk-case-where-are-faizan%e2%80%99s-faheem%e2%80%99s-familes</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/136095/qurtaba-chowk-case-where-are-faizan%e2%80%99s-faheem%e2%80%99s-familes#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 22 Mar 11 06:34:25 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Punjab]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=136095</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Police chief, SHO issued notices to file replies by March 24.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The Lahore High Court (LHC) has summoned the capital city police officer, Aslam Tareen, for Tuesday (today) in a petition seeking recovery of the families of the Qurtaba Chowk deceased Faheem Shamshad and Faizan Haider.

Justice Chaudhry Iftikhar Hussain issued the order while hearing a petition filedby Advocate Malik Munsif Awan, formerly one of the counsel for the families.

Awan filed a habeas corpus petition before the LHC seeking recovery of the families saying that the families of both the deceased had been missing since March 15. He said he apprehended that they had been kidnapped and were being kept in illegal detention.

In his petition, Awan named the interior minister, the home secretary and the inspector general of Punjab Police as respondents. He said according to the media reports, the families had had received Rs200 million as blood-money, which, he added, had put the lives of the family members in danger.

He said neither the provincial nor the federal government had acknowledged responsibility about the families’ whereabouts. He asked the court to summon the respondents and direct them to produce the ‘abducted’ families before the court.

Terror trial

Later, another petition was filed against the state for not charging Davis under the Anti Terrorism Act and for spying against the state. The petitioner, Advocate Rana Ilmuddin Ghazi, said that Davis’ release had left people in shock.

He said that Davis was known to have been involved in anti- state activities. He held the inspector general of police, the officials of the Prosecution Department additional district and sessions judge Yousaf Aujla and the Punjab law minister responsible for failing to fulfill their duty and facilitating Davis’ release.

He said that the Law Ministry had paid the diyat on behalf of the US citizen. He said the LHC had put Davis’ name on the Exit Control List, but it was later removed without LHC’s permission.

He asked the court to hold the respondent responsible for failing to carry out a transparent and fair trial. He also asked the court to summon record of Davis’ judicial and police file and fix culpability of all government functionaries who had not fulfilled their responsibilities.

CCPO, SHO issued notice

An additional district and sessions judge on Monday issued a notice to Lahore chief city police officer (CCPO) and SHO to file their reply in a petition seeking registration of FIR against jail authorities for allegedly keeping Faizan andFaheem’s counsel in illegal detention.

Judge Rao Abdul Jabbar issued the notice during hearing of a petition filed by Advocate Asad Manzoor Butt. Advocate Butt, one of the counsel for Faizan and Faheem’s families, told thecourt that the ASP and the SP of the Kot Lakhpat Jail had illegally detained him and his colleague Advocate Nauman Attique in jail for four hours while they were on their way to the court room for the hearing of the murder case against US citizen Raymond Davis.

He contended that they were taken to a room adjacent to the SP’s office instead of the court room. He told the court that the jail authorities had abducted them and kept them away from pleading the case against the accused.

He said he had approached the Kot Lakhpat SHO to register a complaint against the jail authorities concerned for keeping him and his colleague in illegal detention.

The SHO, he said, refused to register the complaint and directed him to approach the CCPO instead.

He said though the CCPO had received his application, but there had been no progress so far.

The court directed the CCPO and the Kot Lakhpat SHO to file their replies by March 24.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 22nd, 2011.


&nbsp;]]>
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			<title>Davis' release: LHC seeks explanation on missing families</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/135810/davis-release-lhc-seeks-explanation-on-missing-families</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/135810/davis-release-lhc-seeks-explanation-on-missing-families#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 21 Mar 11 06:36:23 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=135810</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[LHC orders CCPO Lahore to present report on the disappearance of the families of Faizan and Faheem.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday sought an explanation from the Capitol City Police Officer (CCPO) of Lahore Aslam Tareen about the mysterious absence of the families of Muhammad Fahim and Faizan Haider, the two men who were killed by US national Raymond Davis.

A petition was filed by one of the former lawyers of the deceased’s families.

The petition asked the court to take notice of the sudden disappearance of the families following the release of Davis.

LHC Chief Justice Ijaz Chaudhry heard the case and ordered Tareen to present a report on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Leader of the Oppostiion in the National Assembly (NA) Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz would support the formation of a judicial or parliamentary commission to probe the Raymond Davis case.

Speaking to Express 24/7 in Islamabad, he said that people are still confused about the results of case, adding that they have the right to know who the real culprit is.

The opposition leader said that Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani did not take his party into confidence over the issue.

He was of the view that an independent commission should be formed to probe the case.]]>
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			<title>Khosa, Awan defend Davis’ release</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/135712/khosa-awan-defend-davis%e2%80%99-release</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/135712/khosa-awan-defend-davis%e2%80%99-release#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 21 Mar 11 05:10:49 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=135712</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[PPP members say no force made the victims’ families accept the blood money deal.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Pakistan Peoples Party (PPPP) on Sunday openly defended the release of Raymond Davis and avoided criticising the Punjab government and urged agitating political parties not to politicise a court judgment.


Defending the PPP’s stance on the issue, Punjab Governor Sardar Latif Khan Khosa and federal Law Minister Babar Awan ruled out on Sunday the use of any force in connection with the deal.

Highlighting the judiciary’s independence, Khosa said that the families of the Lahore shootout victims had not been pressed to accept the blood money. He said that the court had ruled after the families of victims accepted Rs200 million in diyat under the Shariah.

Citing a reference from Holy Quran, he said that it was better to accept blood money and forgive the accused, adding that the deceased “will never return”.  He said that in a 1990 ruling of the Supreme Court, the then government had inducted Shariah laws in 302 of the PPC.

He said that earlier, the Federal Shariat Court had directed that 302 of the PPC should be amended under the same laws.

He said that so Diyat “is allowable under Islamic and domestic laws”.

No pressure was brought to bear upon the judge, he said. “He took four hours to settle the matter by inquiring from the aggrieved family members individually and collectively.”

He said that it was the right of heirs and it was a good step in resolving a blood feud. He said that Diyat “creates the circumstance of peace and harmony”.

When questioned about the source of the money paid to the relatives of the shootout victims, he replied that Davis’ relatives “may have managed the amount”.

“Diyat can be applied even on the gallows,” the law minister said.

He said: “No one can force 19 persons to sign documents or conceal them anywhere (without their consent) in the 21st Century.”

He said that it was the function of investigative journalist to find the whereabouts of the heirs of Faizan and Faheem, the victims of the Qartaba Chowk firing incident.

Anyone having any objection on the Davis’ release should move higher courts. He said that people who are criticising the Punjab government for not trying Davis under anti-terrorism laws or for spying and Fasad Fil Arz should read the detailed judgment of the court where “all questions have been comprehensively addressed”.

Asked about the status of the so-called ‘unification bloc’, Khosa said that he would act under the law and would “never administer oath to them”.

He said that their case was already being heard by the Chief Election Commissioner and he could not make any comment on it. He said that he disliked demonstrations either in favour or against court verdicts.

The judiciary is a constitutional institution and it has wielded its constitutional and legal powers.

He avoided to reply any question on the Punjab government’s claims of good governance and the PML-N’s stance on Davis.

Referring to the presidential address to the joint sitting of parliament, he said that the president would definitely address the session and if some political parties wanted to stage protests or boycott the session, it “is their parliamentary right to do so during the address”.

He said that PPP was determined to promote the policy of reconciliation and in this regard his party had appointed the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly as the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee. He said that it was because of this policy that the PAC has up till now recovered Rs68 billion from various defaulters when all banks have failed to do so.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 21st, 2011.]]>
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			<title>The neglected victim’s brother speaks out</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/135667/the-neglected-victim%e2%80%99s-brother-speaks-out-lahore-city</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/135667/the-neglected-victim%e2%80%99s-brother-speaks-out-lahore-city#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 21 Mar 11 04:21:04 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Rana Yasif]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Punjab]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=135667</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Mashhood-ur-Rehman says he would continue protesting his brother’s death till justice was meted out.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Mashhood-ur-Rehman, a brother of Ibad-ur-Rehman who was crushed to death by a car that rushed to Raymond Davis’s rescue, said he would continue protesting his brother’s death till justice was meted out.


Mashhood was taken aback by the cold shoulder political parties had given to his protests.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Mashhood said he had invited representatives of Jamaat-i-Islami, Tehreek-i-Insaaf and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz to participate in the protest he had organised in front of the American Consulate on Sunday.

He was surprised when all the groups ignored his call. “It seems that the political parties have realised that the issue is no longer media-worthy now that Davis has left,” he said.

Mashhood said Ibad-ur-Rehman’s Friends (IF) had been formed after his brother’s death and would protest his death every Sunday from 3 pm to 5 pm in front of the American Consulate till the killer was arrested. He said they only wanted to hold peaceful protests.

“Why can’t the government apprehend the killer? Does he enjoy  immunity?” he said. He said his brother’s death was being ignored and this showed that political parties pursued their own vested interests.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 21st, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Joint session of parliament: PML-Q to boycott presidential address</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/135382/pml-q-to-boycott-presidents-address-to-the-parliament</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/135382/pml-q-to-boycott-presidents-address-to-the-parliament#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 21 Mar 11 02:03:41 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[abdul.manan]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=135382</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Chaudhry Shujaat to meet JUI-F chief today to seek his support.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid-e-Azam (PML-Q) has decided to boycott the upcoming joint session of parliament in protest against the release of CIA contractor Raymond Davis and increasing frequency of US drone attacks in tribal regions.


President Asif Ali Zardari is supposed to address the joint session of the National Assembly and Senate scheduled for March 22.

The PML-Q took the decision at a party meeting in Lahore on Sunday following the failure of its talks with the government over the arrest of Chaudhry Moonis Elahi, sources told The Express Tribune.  Moonis Elahi, the son of former Punjab chief minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, is currently being quizzed by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in the National Insurance Company Limited scam.

FIA’s Additional Director-General Zafar Ahmad Qureshi will present the findings of interrogation in the Supreme Court today (March 21). Elahi is likely to be declared a culprit in the multi-billion-rupee scam. Sources said that PML-Q  supremo Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and his aides had met President Zardari at the Presidency on March 11 to take up Elahi’s matter with him.

President Zardari, however, refused to commit anything, saying that he would discuss the issue with Interior Minister Rehman Malik because his ministry looks after the affairs of the FIA.

Sources said that Hussain had offered his party’s support to the PPP-led coalition government at the centre as at that time the MQM was considering parting ways with the government.

Hussain reportedly wanted the FIA declare Elahi innocent in its investigation report to be presented in the apex court today.

When Elahi was arrested by the FIA on March 17, the Chaudhrys of Gujrat contacted the presidency to seek his release. But the government informed them that the FIA chief had refused to cooperate with Malik and even threatened to inform the Supreme Court if he was pressured in the case. The Chaudhrys were however reluctant to buy this argument.

In Sunday’s meeting, the PML-Q strongly criticised, what it called, ‘dubious role’ of Malik in the Elahi case and decided to boycott the presidential address to the joint session of parliament in protest.

The Q-League would, however, agitate the issues of Davis’ release and drone attacks to show its resentment against the government.

Hussain, sources said, would meet JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Monday (today) to persuade him to join them in their protest. Sources said that the PML-Q is confident to win over the JUI-F’s support for the boycott of parliament’s session. But it is not sure about getting support from the MQM.

PML-Q spokesperson Kamil Ali Agha told journalists after Sunday’s meeting that his party would boycott Zardari’s address and would stage a protest outside the Parliament House against Davis’ release and drone attacks in tribal areas.

He said that Hussain has contacted Dr Toosi, a common friend of PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif and the PML-Q supremo, to enquire about the health of Sharif. He said that Dr Toosi has conveyed Hussain’s message to Sharif in the hospital.

The PML-Q announcement to boycott the joint session of parliament came a day after government negotiators failed to convince the PML-N to drop its plans for ‘spoiling’ the presidential address.

Opposition leader in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, who belongs to the PML-N, had refused to commit smooth sailing for presidential address.

In Islamabad, the JUI-F has convened a meeting of its parliamentarians on Monday to chalk out plan for the presidential address. Though there was no official word, individuals close to Maulana Fazl said the party was most likely to go for boycott.

But interestingly, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani appeared to be not overwhelmed by the tough task of winning over the opposition parties. He is preparing to launch from Monday a charm offensive to make sure that Zardari did not face any serious interruption during his address a day later.

Gilani convened a meeting of parliamentarians from the parties allied to his government, including the MQM. But it was not immediately known whether or not the MQM would attend the meeting.

With additional reporting by Zia Khan in Islamabad

Published in The Express Tribune, March 21st, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Davis case: Slain men’s families secretly flown to UAE</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/135279/davis-case-slain-men%e2%80%99s-families-secretly-flown-to-uae</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/135279/davis-case-slain-men%e2%80%99s-families-secretly-flown-to-uae#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 20 Mar 11 03:53:24 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[asad.kharal]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=135279</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Family members of Faizan and Faheem secretly been flown out of the country.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Family members of the two men shot dead by CIA contractor Raymond Davis have secretly been flown out of the country, The Express Tribune has learnt.


A chartered plane carrying 18 family members of Faizan Haider and Faheem Shamshad, the two men killed by Davis, left the Chaklala air base on Friday at 4:30 pm for the United Arab Emirates (UAE), sources said.

The plane landed at the Dubai airport from where the 18 people proceeded to Abu Dhabi where two houses have been rented for them. Four American Green Cards and two residences in the US have also been arranged for the two families.

Interestingly, husbands of the seven sisters of the two victims have also disappeared along with their children, the sources said. They have been  shifted to undisclosed location for their safety.

They will soon be shifted to Abu Dhabi to be reunited with other members of their respective families. They include Muhammad Afzal and Ramzan, spouses of Faheem’s sisters Nazia and Mumtaz, and Amir Hashmi, Malik Khurram, Rasheed Chohan, Ayub and Imran, husbands of Faizan’s sisters Mumtaz, Nazia, Aasia, Zille Huma, Shazia and Saima.

Davis was acquitted by a court on Wednesday after the two families agreed to execute a ‘blood money’ deal to pardon him.

Court documents show discrepancies in the amount of money given to the legal heirs of the two slain men. It has also been learnt that the heirs of the two deceased men had no idea about the blood money deal, even hours before the deal was struck on Friday.

The documents, copies of which are available with The Express Tribune, do not mention how the money was paid.

Interestingly, three payment receipts, written on plain paper without any official attestation, were presented in the court on Friday. The heirs of Faizan and Faheem were made to sign these receipts in the Kot Lakhpat jail minutes before the hearing.

The amount of money given to each heir of Faheem’s family was handwritten to show that overall Rs100 million in blood money was paid to the family. A similar one-page document was used to show the amount paid to members of Faizan’s family.

Legal experts believe that because the documents are in Urdu language, they must have been drafted by Pakistani authorities in a bid to allow members of both the families to accept the deal without consulting any outside legal expert in order to keep Davis’ release a secret.

The sources said that US Consul-General Carmela Conroy, Consular Officer Jasson Rieff and Officer of Foreign Litigation Paul Harrep, struck the blood money deal, which was brokered by functionaries of a Pakistani intelligence agency and the Punjab government.

They added that the families of the two victims were taken into ‘protective custody’ on March 14 at the start of negotiations for the blood money deal and remained in custody until Friday when they boarded a chartered plane at the Chaklala air base.

According to documents presented in the court, Faheem’s father Shamshad Ali received Rs11.11 million as blood money, Halima Begum (mother) got Rs33.33 million, Muhammad Saleem, Muhammad Waseem, Muhammad Jamshaid and Muhammad Akram (brothers) got Rs11.11 million each, while Nazia Afzal and Mumtaz (sisters) received Rs5.55 million.

Similarly, Faizan’s mother Perveen Akhtar got Rs33.33 million, his widow Zehra got Rs25 million, while Imran, Usman and Salman (brothers) received Rs7.5 million each, and his sisters got Rs3.78 million each.

According to the deal, four persons from the two families would first go to the US after completing visa formalities. Later, other family members would be considered for permanent residence in the US, the sources said.

Earlier arrangements had been made for the two families in Pakistan, so that they could complete the necessary paperwork. The situation, however, changed when Iqbal Jaffery, a senior lawyer, requested the court to summon the legal heirs of Faizan and Faheem. It was then that the authorities decided to send both the families to the UAE.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 20th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>US-Pakistan relations after Raymond Davis</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/135013/us-pakistan-relations-after-raymond-davis</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/135013/us-pakistan-relations-after-raymond-davis#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 19 Mar 11 19:35:15 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[editorial]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Editorial]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=135013</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[If you connect all the dots, Pakistan and America are going to clash in the near future.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[If you connect all the dots, Pakistan and America are going to clash in the near future. The bilateral equation is virtually at an end, and a ‘revolution’ is going to unfold in Pakistan with popular acclaim, most probably with al Qaeda heading the religious militants of our madrassa network. After the release of Raymond Davis, Washington should have been grateful for another anti-US pantomime with a good ending, but the party (read CIA) that unleashed the Raymond Davis crisis decided to unleash another with a drone attack killing 45 of a peaceful jirga in North Waziristan, including the local police (khasadars).

The Pakistan Army, increasingly bothered about what the people of Pakistan think — or what the TV channels care to project — has decided to challenge the US more directly on the drones. Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has earned the admiration of the mostly-religious protesters in the streets of Pakistan by putting the Pakistan Air Force on alert after cancelling the leave of its entire staff and denouncing the drone attack as a counterproductive action. The tribal chiefs in the affected area have given a call for jihad against the US, and they don’t have to go far to join the war unfolding in Pakistan under the leadership of Osama bin Laden and his loyalist Taliban. The war against terrorism, which Pakistan joined under General Musharraf, may be reaching its endgame by Pakistan changing sides.

So far it was the exercise of joining the dots. But behind these recent developments there is the bulwark of US-Pakistan relations that has endured many storms in the past and seems to have survived after every dip in the graph of bilateral warmth. Who is challenging whom to break out of it? Who is leaning on brinkmanship to get the other to show his hand and retreat? Behind the current anti-American wave in Pakistan stand a variety of analysts and doomsayers. There is one class which believes Pakistan should not break out of the pro-US stance but tighten the screw on Washington to make it behave. Then there is a group of ‘realist’ experts who say that the US-Pakistan relationship is ‘transactional’ but, in this equation, America clearly needs Pakistan more than Pakistan needs the US. The third group comprises the passionate TV anchor and the fulminating clergy on the roads who want a clean cut-off with America and expect Pakistan’s fortunes to change after that in the shape of some miracle they can’t describe just yet.

If you read the statements issuing from the US State Department — especially words spoken by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — the GHQ in Pakistan may be right in thinking that America’s policy in the region cannot bear fruit without Pakistani help. But General Petraeus, the top US military commander in Afghanistan, seems oblivious of the latest drone outrage when he asks Pakistan to attack North Waziristan. It seems that, when it comes to the crunch, Pakistan will have to forget its honour-driven passions and take a good look at its collapsing economy. Any suspension of American aid will not hurt Pakistan greatly, but if the US uses its clout with the international financial institutions and multilateral development assistance agencies to roll back their aid too, then the pain will be unbearable and will unleash a ‘revolution’ in Pakistan by the end of 2011. The GHQ may be thinking that the nuisance of its India-driven ‘rebellion’ may still be outweighed by the part Pakistan plays in the war against terrorism. In October 2010, a checkpost attack by US troops allowed Pakistan to demonstrate who was boss in US-Pakistan relations by making Washington apologise abjectly. Will this be repeated in March 2011? Keep in mind that public opinion in the US about Pakistan is at its most negative and that Pakistan is completely isolated internationally on what it is getting ready to do.

Pakistan’s internal situation is perilous. The economy is gradually coming to a halt and the tsunami of the unemployed, formed by Pakistan’s energy crisis and general bankruptcy of state institutions, is looming on the horizon. This is not a revolution that will set things right. This looks like chaos presided over by al Qaeda, whose faith-driven blueprint focuses on war (and booty), not on economic survival.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 20th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Salvaging pride: Hundreds gather to protest the murder deal</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134794/salvaging-pride-hundreds-gather-to-protest-the-murder-deal-isb-city</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134794/salvaging-pride-hundreds-gather-to-protest-the-murder-deal-isb-city#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 19 Mar 11 05:28:29 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[umer.nangiana]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=134794</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Hundreds take to the streets to protest the release of Raymond Davis.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Hundreds of activists from different political parties and members of civil society took to the streets to protest the release of Raymond Davis, the alleged official of United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) who had shot dead two Pakistanis in Lahore earlier this year.


Threatening the present government with a civil disobedience movement, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf Chief Imran Khan asked the government to voluntarily quit, he was speaking at Aabpara Chowk to a rally of hundreds of people.

“They must go or people in great numbers will take to street to topple their government,” said Khan. He added that by freeing Davis, the political leaders had shown weakness. It had given a wrong message to the world.

“We showed the Americans that they could get anything with money. They were assured that US citizens could get away with even murder in Pakistan,” said the PTI chief.

Khan was also critical of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government in Punjab. “Sharif brothers have always demonstrated cowardice. They always leave the country in times of crisis,” said Imran.

The participants of the rally held at Aabpara Chowk after the Friday prayers, mostly youth, were carrying banners with slogans against United States written on them. The youth criticised the federal as well as the Punjab goverments. The main Aabpara road, Khayaban-e-Suharwardy, was closed where traffic remained suspended till late in the evening.

Local leader of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), Mian Muhammad Aslam also criticised the intelligence agencies and the federal government for aiding the release of Davis.

“The Pakistan Peoples Party led federal governmental and intelligence agencies helped engineer Davis’s release through court,” said Aslam. He said Davis should have been hanged for killing Pakistani citizens in broad daylight. The protesters dispersed peacefully but not before giving threats of returning with greater numbers if the government does not leave.

Dozens of members of civil society also held a separate rally at D-Chowk in front of the Parliament House to protest the release of the alleged US spy. They were stopped by the police from proceeding towards the presidency and the Supreme Court.

They chanted slogans against the government, condemning it for allowing the killer of two Pakistanis to get off scot free. These protesters dispersed after staying on the Parade Avenue for over two hours.

Earlier before the Friday prayers, the PTI activists claimed their offices were raided in Rawalpindi by the police who confiscated flags and banners of their party. They said the administration wanted to stop PTI from taking out rallies in the twin cities. They claimed some of their activists were arrested but the police denied arresting any of the protesters.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 19th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Protests continue over Raymond Davis release</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134789/protests-continue-over-raymond-davis-release</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134789/protests-continue-over-raymond-davis-release#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 19 Mar 11 05:08:50 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Punjab]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=134789</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Activists from several political parties and other groups hold joint protest rally against release of Raymond Davis.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Activists from several political parties and other groups including the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf, Pakistan Muslim League (Q), Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), Jamatud Dawa (JD), Islami Jamiat Tulaba (IJT) and Insaf Students Federation (ISF) held a joint protest rally on Friday against the release of US citizen Raymond Davis and vowed to continue the protest campaign till the governments were changed.


The protesters including men, women and children, were seen carrying party flags and banners denouncing the federal government as well as provincial governments. The protesters chanted also slogans against the intelligence agencies accusing them of mismanaging the Davis release.

The protesters were carrying placards and banners bearing inscriptions against Davis’s release and chanted slogans against President Zardari, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani.

Addressing the rally JI Ameer Syed Munawar Hasan said that the Punjab government was responsible for helping Davis flee the country. “Both the provincial and federal government are working for the Americans from day one. They do not serve the interests of Pakistani citizens,” he said. Hasan called the Sharif brothers traitors saying, “Although Zardari, Kiyani and Gilani have all damaged the country, no one has done more damage than the Sharif brothers.”

Hasan said that the ISI had begun coordinating with the CIA and was involved in killing innocent Pakistanis.

JD leader Ameer Hamza said that anti-state actors had hijacked law and order in the country.

“They are trying to blame religious people for their own failures to do their duty and protect Islam. We actually caught a murderer they let him go,” Hamza said. “The religious parties should unite against this government and put the country back on the right path,” he said.

PTI secretary general Dr Yasmin Rashid said that they would continue protests till the ouster of all Americans from the country. “The government has sold out for cash,” she said.

The protesters gathered near Masjid-i-Shuhda and marched towards the Punjab Assembly building. The speakers delivered their speeches at Charing Cross. Access to all shops on The Mall was blocked during the protest and traffic remained suspended for over three hours.

The Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) also observed a black day on Friday to protest against the government for letting Davis go. The lawyers hoisted black flags at the bar building and wore black armbands. The lawyers also observed a complete boycott of the courts proceedings.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 19th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>High court: CJ refuses to hear Davis  case appeal</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134413/lhc-cj-refuses-to-hear-petition-against-davis-release</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134413/lhc-cj-refuses-to-hear-petition-against-davis-release#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 19 Mar 11 05:00:34 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[K-P]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=134413</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[LHC CJ Ijaz Chaudhry refuses to take up petition challenging the release of American national Raymond Davis.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice Ijaz Ahmed Chaudhary refused to hear a petition challenging the acquittal and release of Raymond Davis by a trial court on Friday. The chief justice referred the petition to another judge.


The petition was filed by Barrister Iqbal Jaffery. Jaffery said the trail court had acted in violation of Sharia law, as the widow of the deceased Fahim was opposed to pardoning Davis. “The widow committed suicide in protest against a possible forced settlement,” he said, adding that the trial court had acted hastily.

LHC chief justice has been accused in a section of the media of having prior knowledge of the Diyat settlement being effected between Raymond and the heirs of the deceased while disposing of the four petitions seeking a restraining order against his possible release by way of diplomatic immunity.

On Friday, the chief justice refused to hear the petition observing that he had already heard several petitions against Davis’s alleged ‘diplomatic immunity’. The chief justice referred the petition to Justice Iftikhar Hussain, who will determine ‘maintainability’ of the petition Jaffery has asserted that Davis’s release went against Sharia, the constitution and Pakistani law as he had committed the offence of fisadfil arz which was not compoundable. “Raymond was involved in espionage activities in Pakistan for the CIA. He could not be released by the trial court even after payment of blood money,” he said.Jaffery also said that all the legal heirs of the deceased Fahim and Faizan should be summoned in the court to record their statements in an independent and transparent manner.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 19th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>New-found wealth: ‘Diyat is liable to tax’</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134823/new-found-wealth-%e2%80%98diyat-is-liable-to-tax%e2%80%99</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134823/new-found-wealth-%e2%80%98diyat-is-liable-to-tax%e2%80%99#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 19 Mar 11 04:23:05 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[saba.imtiaz]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=134823</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Heirs of those killed by Raymond Davis will have to pay taxes on their compensation payments.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Heirs of those killed by Raymond Davis, who reportedly received Rs200 million in Diyat, will have to pay taxes on their compensation payments.


According to a tax consultant who spoke on condition of anonymity, “Any income earned in Pakistan is liable to be taxed in Pakistan.” Diyat, he explained, would have been exempt from tax under the Income Tax Ordinance of 1979, since it falls in the category of casual or non-recurring income, which was exempt. However, there is no such exemption in the Income Tax Ordinance of 2001. “All Diyat payments are liable to tax deduction,” he said.

In the Davis case, when the heirs file their income tax returns they will have to include the amount they received as Diyat and will be taxed on it.

But will the tax collection authorities keep a check on the heirs? The consultant said that ideally they should. However, if reports of the families leaving Pakistan are true, they could evade paying taxes on the payments. Reports of the families being spirited away also raise several other questions, including whether immigration procedures were followed and if the Diyat payments were taken out of the country in person or via a bank transfer.

Scanned copies of the Diyat settlement documents only show the receipt of the money by the heirs, but do not reveal how the payments were made.

Additionally, whoever issued the Diyat payments should have deducted taxes at source. According to the consultant: “If these amounts were paid by Davis then it’s a different issue, one has to see if he was a resident of Pakistan or not. Since the Diyat has reportedly been paid by the government of Pakistan, the payment they made would either be for services rendered or for the execution of a contract. Since there were no ‘services rendered’, the latter seems to be the case. The government should have deducted at least six per cent in taxes while giving these amounts, according to the rate that applies.”

According to Reuters news agency, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton denied that the US had paid compensation. When asked who did, she replied, “You will have to ask the families.” She also refused to say if the Pakistani government had paid, saying, “You will have to ask the Pakistani government.”

The Washington Post reported that the US government expected to reimburse Pakistani authorities, and quoted a US official saying, “We expect to receive a bill.”

The tax man is only one of the families’ potential worries. “They have made these families a prime target for kidnappers,” said a senior criminal lawyer. Citizens Police Liaison Committee Chief Ahmed Chinoy disagreed. “These problems of targeted kidnappings and robberies are not as prevalent in Punjab as they once were in Karachi. However, as in any other country, this new wealth may be an issue. If you become a ‘have’ from a ‘have not’, you do have to face the problems of the ‘haves’.”

Published in The Express Tribune, March 19th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Freeing of Davis: Lawyers assail decision</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134659/freeing-of-davis-lawyers-assail-decision</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134659/freeing-of-davis-lawyers-assail-decision#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 18 Mar 11 20:20:07 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=134659</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Punjab, Centre facilitated his release, they claim.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Lawyers have criticised a court decision to acquit Raymond Davis, describing it as “abusing the process of law”. They also condemned the Punjab and federal governments for making a “hasty” decision in the case.


At a specially called general body meeting of the Karachi Bar Association (KBA) on Friday, Sindh Bar Council’s Hanif Kashmiri and senior criminal lawyers said the case was not a simple matter of Qisas and Diyat or of 18 heirs. “This was a matter of the 180 million people of Pakistan.”

In thousands of cases in which two parties compromise, courts normally issue notices. But this double-murder case was decided within a few hours, creating a new record in the country’s judicial history, lawyers said.

The KBA’s Muhammad Aqil said the provincial and federal governments “connived and facilitated the release and escape of Raymond Davis”. Syed Haider Imam Rizvi said that the Davis case was an example of the abuse of power, the abuse of the process of law and a compromise on a country’s sovereignty. Other speakers included Nadeem Shehzad Hashmi, Asmatullah Niazi and Tariq Mehmood A Khan, who claimed that the role of intelligence agencies created many doubts about the proceedings. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s lawyers’ wing leaders, who regularly attend KBA meetings, were conspicuously absent on Friday.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 19th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>‘Davis’ release was unexpected and immature’</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134657/%e2%80%98davis%e2%80%99-release-was-unexpected-and-immature%e2%80%99</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134657/%e2%80%98davis%e2%80%99-release-was-unexpected-and-immature%e2%80%99#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 18 Mar 11 20:19:30 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[saher.baloch]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=134657</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Several protests, demonstrations held across the city after Juma prayers.]]>
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				<![CDATA[The protests against the “unexpected” and “immature” acquittal of Raymond Davis continued outside the Karachi Press Club on Friday.


The Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan (JUP) and its student wing Anjuman-e-Naujawanan-e-Islam (ANI) held a combined rally in which the party’s additional secretary, Tariq Mehboob, said that “the case was treated immaturely by the government”.

Several party workers shouted slogans against the government and America, believing that “Davis’ crime would not go unpunished”. “It was an issue of integrity but the government’s meek stance combined with some opportunistic elements within the provincial and federal government proved that American supremacy is dearer to our leaders than providing justice to the innocent,” Mehboob shouted amid cries of “shame shame”.

The protest lasted several hours and many speakers shared the limelight. Surprisingly, the man who led the slogans most enthusiastically was unaware as to who the speakers were. All he knew was that he was condemning Davis’ release.

When Mufti Fayazul Hassan Sabri, a senior JUP member, took the podium, a worker failed to identify him. “I don’t know, I just came in actually,” he explained.

Meanwhile, Sabri continued his rampage against the government and Americans alike. Apart from being a criminal, Davis is also a terrorist, “who was captured with illegal weapons,” he said. All subsequent speakers insisted that his acquittal was a conspiracy “in which the people have been let down once again”.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf rally

For the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) rally, groups of students, homemakers and civil society members gathered outside the press club.

PTI member Nusrat Shakeel said, “Proper proceedings should have taken place in this case”. “Even if he was not acquitted in the murder case he should have been tried for keeping illegal weapons and for being on a surveillance mission in Pakistan.”

What made the protesters angrier was the fact that even though the government let him go, it is still “paralysed with fear” when it comes to constant drone attacks in the tribal areas. “Eighty people died in a drone attack in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa only a day earlier. Tell me, is it justified?” Shakeel asked.

“It shows us what the value of a Pakistani citizen is,” said Sidra Mirza, a student. “Had the incident happened in any American state, our government would have been forced into producing the perpetrators”.

PTI Karachi president Erum Butt was upset that there was no news of the families of the men killed by Davis. “At least we should know where they are and what happened to them. Why are so many facts being hidden from the people?”

Meanwhile, PTI Sindh president Dr Inamul Haq tried to convince everyone to “show the government our true power” since it is now time for “civil disobedience”.

JAP and MWM protest

The Majlis-e-Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) and the Jaffaria Alliance Pakistan (JAP) also staged separate demonstrations on Friday to condemn Davis’ release and the invasion of Gulf forces in Bahrain.

Participants started walking from Jamia Masjid Mustafa, Abbas Town, after Friday prayers to Abul Hassan Isphani Road, where they staged a 30-minute sit-in. MWM members Maulana Sadiq Taqvi, Allama Abbas Waziri, and Mohammad Mehdi expressed solidarity with the people of Bahrain. They demanded the government of Pakistan shut down the United States Embassy and its consulates in the country, saying that these were centres for CIA activities.

JAP activists organised a demonstration outside the Khoja Mosque in Kharadar in support of the people of Bahrain, Libya, Yemen, Egypt and Tunisia. JAP president Allama Abbas Kumaili, Maulana Hussain Masoodi, Allama Baqar Zaidi, Maulana Mohammad Ali Ramzani and others condemned the killing of Shia and Sunni protesters in Bahrain and Libya and demanded the Gulf countries immediately withdraw their forces from Bahrain.

Condemning the release of Davis, JAP leaders accused the Saudi and Punjab governments of acting as brokers for the Americans.

Smaller protests were held outside Shah Najaf Mosque in Buffer Zone, Hussaini Sifarat Khana in Malir, Noor-e-Eman Mosque in Nazimabad and Hyderi Mosque in Orangi.

With additional input from press releases

Published in The Express Tribune, March 19th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Back on track — on a collision course</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134616/back-on-track-%e2%80%94-on-a-collision-course</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134616/back-on-track-%e2%80%94-on-a-collision-course#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 18 Mar 11 19:35:35 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[lt-gen.r.asad.durrani]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=134616</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[With the snows melting, it is time to get on with the spring offensive.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[This Raymond Davis business was not really about diplomatic or other statuses. Once this former commando displayed his marksmanship in crowded places, it was also no longer merely about law and justice. It was now primarily about uneasy relationships: Between the US and Pakistan; and between a frustrated people and their indifferent rulers. After some initial hiccups, one had reasons to believe that both Islamabad and Washington had grasped the complexities and the sensitivities of this case, and that they were now taking their time defusing tempers and working out agreements with which all of us, especially our angry streets, could live. How was this mother of all deals to meet this tall an order?

I do not know, except that Islamabad could not have hanged Davis or accepted him as a diplomat. That would have meant complete victory by one and total surrender by the other. A monetary settlement, too, was bound to be inadequate. No amount of money for the families of those massacred in Mozang, or in the bottomless state kitty that never lets any of that money reach the man on the street, would have assuaged his anger.

An apology by the US government, even though lacking in sincerity, was a good start, but not good enough. I concede once again that I have no idea what would have been enough: A hundred years in the jug for the undercover agent followed by a swap with the frail female, ostensibly trained to disarm a platoon of crack GIs; a commitment by the US to end drone strikes and all other mischief in the region; mass exodus of hundreds (or is it thousands?) of Raymond Davis clones running loose on our sacred territory; or mass conversion to Islam by most of the West! One could have, however, reasonably expected that to make the deal palatable, some of our still credible public figures were taken on board.

Yet again, I admit I have no clue what all has been agreed upon in the back channels. Some of it could still be safely inferred. Davis’s clandestine evacuation, probably necessary to avoid an untoward incident, has not been coordinated with any measures to contain its political fallout. Those who tried to console us that the Sharia law has not only prevailed but has also helped the mighty US save its infidel face, were quickly hiding their own. The American government has denied paying any blood money. One hopes there is some religious injunction that sanctifies ex post facto underhand deals!

And just in case some of us had wishfully believed that this bloody episode had provided us with a chance to correct the imbalances in earlier arrangements, the bloodiest of all drone attacks that followed on Davis’s heels brought us quickly down to earth. Hardball cannot be played by those who survive on foreign deals and doles. Anyone who adapted the American game of baseball to its Pakistani version of ‘softball’ must have known that we have no stomach for anything harder. Too bad that soft power — once the main plank of American foreign policy — has, in the unipolar era, firmly yielded to hard power. There is still hope. Daisy-cutters can only win battles. The wars, they lose to IEDs and exploding jackets.

An American friend from the good old days is very hopeful that after this murky deal our bilateral relations will be back on track. Indeed, except that on that track both of us were on a collision course. Of late, we took a break and recharged our batteries. With the snows melting, it is time to get on with the spring offensive.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 19th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Raymond Davis has left the building</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134619/raymond-davis-has-left-the-building</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134619/raymond-davis-has-left-the-building#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 18 Mar 11 19:34:01 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[miranda.husain]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=134619</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Pakistan. From banning bras to buying justice. It’s life, Jim. But not as we know it.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[Raymond Davis is a killjoy. Pakistanis were, at the beginning of the week, enjoying themselves mirthlessly, ridiculing Fox News for having run as authentic a satirical piece on Pakistan’s Islamic Council of Ideology being wholly unsupportive of the import of padded and vibrantly coloured bras. Of course, absent from all the rib-tickling, was the fact that a small number of Pakistanis had themselves fallen for the jape bra — hook, line and sinker.

But before a discussion could erupt as to why anyone would believe the uplifting spoof, Davis was again stealing the show. For many, his acquittal on double murder charges, following the payment of ‘blood money’, underscores how it is the Americans who are now laughing last and diplomatic immunity be damned.

The religious right and Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf are threatening nationwide agitation protests. The former wants Davis hanged. A petition filed before the Supreme Court claims Davis’s release is unconstitutional, given that the case never went before an anti-terrorism court. Many Pakistanis have already come out on to the streets to express their disgust at reports that the Americans apparently dialled dollar for murder. The US, for its part, denies footing the more than $2 million compensation tab. But this may be nothing more than a cunning case of semantics. It is rumoured that Islamabad sealed the deal, and rather coercively at that, and is simply awaiting reimbursement.

Of course, conventional wisdom suggests that the Davis case was never about ascertaining diplomatic immunity credentials. Had it been, we could, perhaps, have expected at least some mutterings from either Islamabad or Washington about referring the matter to the International Court of Justice. Instead, it seems that Davis, in all his international man of mystery infamy, was simply exploited as a bargaining tool to drive home the point to those pesky CIA-types that it would simply no longer do to treat the ISI as anything less than an equal information partner when operating, however covertly, on the latter’s home turf.

And so it has transpired that the two outfits temporarily put aside their respective cloaks and daggers to powwow some sort of agreement to smooth the passage of Davis’s release. And if this gives possible credence to previous assertions that the two men gunned down back in January were, in fact, intelligence agencies known to the unquiet American, well, so be it. Ditto rumours that the tenure extension of the ISI chief was aimed at appeasing the CIA, who reportedly enjoyed a good working-relationship with him.

But all that is in the past. The business of the day is damage control under another name. Those at Pakistan’s helm have already embarked upon a strategy to reinvent themselves as players independent of American dictates. Slamming as a violation of human rights the CIA drone strike in North Waziristan that targeted civilians a day after Davis left the country, Gen Kayani said: “The Pakistan Army has already lodged a protest in the strongest possible terms.” Of course, there have been countless rumours that the security and intelligence apparatus’ biggest crib with the drone programme is its reconnaissance dimension. They fear the Yanks are spying on them. So this is possibly just a reminder to Washington to play ball and not forget the debt it owes.

This, however, appears a point lost on MQM leader Altaf Hussain. Jumping on the blood money bandwagon, he has now declared: “We are willing to pay diyat for the release of Dr Aafia Siddiqui” if the US agrees. How that would apply to an American court of law is not something he has clearly thought through. Ditto his demands that the US pay blood money for civilian lives lost through drone operations. He has evidently forgotten that his coalition partner okayed this form of remote-controlled warfare.

Pakistan. From banning bras to buying justice. It’s life, Jim. But not as we know it.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 19th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Davis-ed by ourselves</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134620/davis-ed-by-ourselves</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134620/davis-ed-by-ourselves#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 18 Mar 11 19:33:41 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Ejaz Haider]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=134620</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The military should understand and accept civilian supremacy, the civilians should understand their responsibility.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[A month-and-half, four dead bodies, tens of thousands of tweets and Facebook messages, a foreign minister and millions of rupees in blood money later, Raymond Davis, the former US Special Forces sergeant, has left Pakistan. He had killed two Pakistani boys, shooting them seven times with a Glock 17 pistol. Another boy was run over by the vehicle Davis was protecting and which tried to get away after the shooting. Later, the widow of one of the murdered boys committed suicide, saying she didn’t expect justice would be done, justice being Davis hanged by the neck until he died.

She was right. Her husband, as also the other boy and the unconcerned pedestrian, was caught in a major drama involving states and powerful intelligence agencies. When that happens, people become expendable.

So, what happened? Some of it is now known. What is unknown will, sooner or later, become known. Davis was part of a cell in Lahore, primarily surveilling Jamaat-ud-Dawa and, as one report puts it, “perhaps [attempting to] eliminate associates of Lashkar-e-Taiba”. That has come out. But he was also in contact, according to sources, with Punjabi Taliban groups. According to Christine Fair’s account, “Davis reportedly did security and surveillance activities for the case managers of that cell”. That may be so, given that when he shot to kill those boys he was in a protective mode. The question of why he might have eliminated them at the time and in the place he did, remains unanswered.

But he was no diplomat; neither did he have ‘blanket immunity’. Whatever be the political motives of former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, he was right in asserting the Foreign Office’s assessment about the man’s dubious status. Reports suggest Davis was contracted by the US Central Intelligence Agency. But he could also have been part of a JSOC (Joint Special Operations Command) operation. If so, that will, at some point, also become known.

The debate is now focusing on whether blood money was paid according to the law; whether Davis should have been allowed to walk away, diyat or no diyat; whether the Supreme Court (SC) should take suo motu notice of the circumstances in which the diyat transaction took place; whether there’s an element of coercion involved in it; whether we are a sovereign nation; who takes decisions here etc.

Some of these questions are academic. For instance, what would happen even if the SC were to take suo motu notice of this? Davis is already gone. If the SC were to determine that procedures were not followed, how would the government get Davis back to stand trial again? How would it pin down those responsible for getting Davis out? The Punjab government may have been the face of the court drama, but the settlement happened after the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate settled the matter with the CIA. Would the SC ask the director-general of the ISI to come to court and explain the details of the settlement and the deal?

Highly desirable, but possible? Would parties agitating the matter leave the diplomatic enclave and protest before the ISI headquarters; or for that matter, the GHQ? That is the real issue and throws up the question of how decisions are made in this country and by whom. It is important to move away from symptoms to the real causes.

So the interior ministry allowed some dubious Americans to come to Pakistan, who then set up cells here, an activity that was not vetted and approved by the ISI? Why? And where was the Foreign Office in all this? Why should the various organisations be driving in different lanes? That, surely, is not an American problem; it is our problem. Also, if the ISI was tailing the cell of which Davis was a part, why were these people not declared persona non grata and thrown out after it became clear that they were up to no good? Why did we wait for this accident to happen?

It is not enough to talk about hostile agencies, as we are wont to do. Important also is the fact of why the hostile agencies may be operating here and what fissures they might be working to exploit. Fissures are never caused by foreign elements, but where they exist, they will be exploited. They will be exploited also because Pakistan, as a state, believes in realpolitik and it should be ready to face the application of realpolitik by other interested actors — and, in the case of the US, with a heavy dose of machtpolitik.

It is a matter of record that Pakistan, despite what I just said about its being heavy on realpolitik, has never tried to work out a national security strategy. A terrible irony this, but Pakistan is never low on ironies. Add to this the civil-military imbalance that has dogged us almost from our inception and we have a military strategy that determines the national security strategy rather than the other way round. The spin-off of that is that the security policy has come to determine the foreign policy instead of being its subset. Corollary: We are screwed.

None of this has to do with foreign powers or hostile agencies. All of this is our doing and relates to our structural problems. In walks Davis, but only as a metaphor. Matters are kept secret because decisions are not made according to institutional rules. No one is prepared to talk about the fact that if the world is ganging up on us, it is because we worry the world; and we worry the world because we have cold war warriors who refuse to heed that the world around us may be changing — and that it is changing against us because we continue to perpetuate the original folly.

And now, we are agitating the issue for all the wrong reasons. We should agitate for institutional harmony which we don’t have. We should agitate for balance between civil and military relations; that means the military should understand and accept civilian supremacy, but it also means that the civilians should understand the responsibility which comes with the exercise of that supremacy. Neither has done so far what both are required to do.

And if that is not going to happen, we shall continue to be Davis-ed — not by Davises — but by ourselves.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 19th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Protesting against his release — but why?</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134621/protesting-against-his-release-%e2%80%94-but-why</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134621/protesting-against-his-release-%e2%80%94-but-why#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 18 Mar 11 19:33:15 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[naveen.naqvi]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=134621</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Protesting the release of Raymond Davis? Yes, this is certainly what we should be protesting.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[This morning when I looked out my window, I saw that the development along the beachfront was moving along at a good speed. There was now a wall of huge boulders that lined the shore. This made me think that if there were ever a cyclone or tsunami, those rocks would come hurtling onto my apartment building. When I looked to the left, I saw that the community of camel riders had increased. Despite the unprecedented 10 degree rise in temperature over the past few days, they were spending their days shelterless under the sun. I know that they had come to Karachi because there was little or no livelihood for them in their villages in interior Sindh.

When I left home, I drove along what used to be the main artery of our neighbourhood, and found that the route was blocked because the president was in town. Meanwhile, the fence that he was building in the middle of the road was coming along smoothly. My parents told me that it was almost impossible for them to get to their corner store because all the lanes behind his ‘house’ were blocked, and I did wonder at the brick wall that emerged overnight, blocking the mouth of their quiet lane. Coming back to the fence in the middle of the road, it has two layers of metal-plating and three layers of cement that separate our ‘fearless’ leader from us. I thought to myself that it must be a highly isolating experience, building that wall to keep himself from us. This made me conclude that things must be really bad, and if our president feels so paranoid, we do not stand a chance against whatever is out there that terrifies him so.

Further up, the policemen keeping our streets secure stopped a car, and asked the driver for Rs50, saying they hadn’t had tea the whole day. I know that people are particularly sympathetic to cops these days, but I must confess that I didn’t feel too bad.

As I kept going, I noticed that there were two new billboards selling lawn cloth, but at the same time there were at least 20 more people sleeping on the pavement along the shrine of Abdullah Shah Ghazi. Some of them were heroin addicts, but most were families; mothers, fathers, grandparents and children. It occurred to me that the bulging stomachs of the children were caused by malnutrition, not because they were well-fed.

It was then that I heard about the protest at the press club against the release of Raymond Davis. Someone asked, “Well, what is the protest against? His release? His arrest? Is it that the families of those murdered by him allegedly took the money the Americans offered? Perhaps it’s that the deal was brokered by Shahbaz Sharif, who is a bastion of Islam. Or maybe it is that the negotiation was done under the same Islamic laws that were responsible for the assassinations of Salmaan Taseer and Shahbaz Bhatti.”

Yes, this was certainly what we should be protesting, I thought.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 19th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Davis and our national honour</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134617/davis-and-our-national-honour</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134617/davis-and-our-national-honour#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 18 Mar 11 18:56:02 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[editorial]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Editorial]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=134617</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Nations/states that are really strong don’t feel the need to constantly prove that they are honourable.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[After Raymond Davis was freed on the basis of blood money (diyat), sections of the media and the rightwing conservative elements in the country got yet another issue to rail about. Much of their outrage was centred on what they perceive to be the loss of ‘national honour’ and the metaphor that was most commonly used was of Pakistan selling itself to the Americans. Some processions were put in the field by the Jamaat-i-Islami and Imran Khan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf — though the JUI-F has been conspicuous by its absence. That mainstream political parties remained unmoved by the so-called loss of national honour was nullified by the performance of the media, which lost its cool as several TV hosts and anchors lunged for ratings in an effort to pander to the lowest common denominator.

The case of Raymond Davis was not discussed objectively. A national consensus on the way the case was handled was presumed and any difference of opinion over immunity was brushed aside. One tended to see the same people on several talk shows, which would lead some to believe that perhaps there is a dearth of analysts/’experts’ on television. Knowing that any anti-American upsurge could not be managed without ex-ISI boss Hamid Gul, every anchor tried to get him as a guest.

The anchors were angry under the misguided principle that views that they present should be in tune with those held by the general public. Points of law were made and established by non-expert guests and, in some cases, by the anchors themselves. Already, the stage had been set for an emotional mudbath: Channels and newspapers had decided that the way the police had changed tack on the framing of charges against Raymond Davis was not to be questioned and the same was the case with military involvement/influence in the whole matter. In fact, it took an emotional PML-N senior office-bearer to ask Imran Khan point-blank why he was maligning politicians and not mentioning the role played by the country’s most powerful institution — the military — without whose consent nothing of the sort could have happen.

Is there no available knowledge about the behaviour of states which could be used to differentiate between the conduct of the individual and that of the state, especially in the realm of international affairs where national sovereignty is always in doubt? Why should ‘honour’ take precedence over the ‘interest’ of the state? Why can’t one realise that acting emotionally in the past has harmed the state of Pakistan? Why should honour lead the way to self-destruction when wisdom points the way to survival and prosperity? Why cannot we learn this from, say, a traditional ally like China, which does not factor in ‘honour’ into its dealings with the rest of the world? From the loss of East Pakistan to the protest over the Kerry-Lugar Bill, one has seen how meaningless any reference to nationalism and ‘qaumi ghairat’ has been.

What was the use of pillorying all the important political entities of Pakistan when it came to diagnosing the mechanics of Raymond Davis’s acquittal? What pleasure did it give the media to hurl angry words at the PPP, the PML-N, the judiciary — including the Supreme Court of Pakistan — the ISI and the Pakistan Army as renegades who had ‘sold the nation cheap’?

How can ‘honour’ be the yardstick of conduct for a country? Nations/states that are really strong don’t feel the need to constantly prove that they are honourable. The truth is that states recognise as valid only their national interest and think of survival at all times. The opposite of honour is wisdom. Almost bankrupt with its politicians victimising one another at the cost of the economy, Pakistan needs to exercise restraint and act wisely rather than passionately. And if the politicians are without wisdom, should the media, too, politicise itself and join the chorus of destruction? The way the media has reacted to the release of Raymond Davis was not its finest hour and should lead to some introspection and, one hopes, correction.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 19th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Thousands of Pakistanis rally against US</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134419/political-parties-civil-society-hold-protests-against-govt</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134419/political-parties-civil-society-hold-protests-against-govt#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 18 Mar 11 13:20:11 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[afp]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=134419</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Multip­le politi­cal partie­s and civil societ­y groups hold demons­tratio­ns in  Islama­bad and Lahore.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Thousands of people took to the streets across Pakistan on Friday to protest a US drone strike that killed 35 people this week and the release of a CIA contractor who had been held for murder.

Security was tight and the US embassy in Islamabad and its consulates in Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar were closed in anticipation of public anger, but fears of violence proved unfounded with fewer demonstrators than expected.

Some 3,000 people rallied outside Islamabad's Red Mosque against the release of US national Raymond Davis, a contractor with the Central Intelligence Agency who shot dead two Pakistanis in January, an AFP reporter said.

The protesters chanted "Friends of the US are traitors", "Down with America".

More than 1,500 people rallied in the eastern cultural hub of Lahore, including demonstrators from the religious Jamaat-e-Islami party and outlawed religious party Jamaat-ud-Dawa, and from the party headed by cricket hero turned politician Imran Khan.

They burned US flags, chanting "Go America, go" and "Go Zardari, go," an AFP reporter said.

Davis was set free on Wednesday after $2 million was paid as blood money to the families of those he killed in a busy Lahore street.

His release was widely condemned among the Pakistani public and media, and anti-US sentiments rose after missiles fired from an unmanned US aircraft on Wednesday killed 35 people including civilians and police.

Jamaat-e-Islami chief Munawar Hassan accused Pakistani intelligence services of reaching a deal with the CIA for Davis' freedom.

"(Our) rulers were fully part of the deal that led to Davis' release," he said.

In the central city of Multan, about 400 people chanted slogans against the United States and Pakistani government, charging their rulers with "bartering the national honour for their own luxuries," witnesses said.

In Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan tribal district where recent drone attacks have been concentrated, more than 1,000 tribesmen called for an immediate end to drone strikes and compensation to victims' families.

They shouted "Death to America" and "Recall our ambassador to America", while local cleric Maulvi Mohammad Rooman, who led the rally, condemned the latest drone attack, calling it "intolerable".

Pakistan's civilian and military leaders have already condemned Thursday's drone strike against a militant hideout in North Waziristan tribal region and demanded an apology and explanation from the United States.

Civilians and police were among those killed when US missiles ploughed into a compound in Datta Khel town, 40 kilometres (25 miles) west of Miranshah.

Intelligence sources in Peshawar said the dead included 12 Taliban militants.]]>
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			<title>Twin cities lawyers observe black day</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134247/twin-cities-lawyers-observe-black-day</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134247/twin-cities-lawyers-observe-black-day#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 18 Mar 11 04:43:50 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[obaid.abbasi]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=134247</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Legal fraternity of twin cities observe black day against release of US citizen and CIA contractor Raymond Davis.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Like other parts of the country, the legal fraternity of twin cities on Thursday observed a black day against the release of US citizen and CIA contractor Raymond Davis and termed it “an attack on Pakistan’s sovereignty”.


Hundreds of lawyers assembled in Rawalpindi District courts to protest against the release of the Davis and later marched towards Katchery Chowk, blocking the road for an hour. They chanted slogans against the government for providing safe passage to Davis, who was being tried for double murder and obtaining visa under a false name at the Lahore High Court (LHC).

In Islamabad, lawyers staged protests outside court premises and also took out rallies. Members of Lahore High Court (LHC), Rawalpindi Bar, District Bar Rawalpindi, Islamabad District Bar and Islamabad High Court (IHC) boycotted court proceeding and hoisted black flags on bar rooms.

President District Bar Rawalpindi Malik Jawad Khalid said that proper legal procedure was not adopted in this case as the accused was being tried for charges other than murder. President High Court Bar Rawalpindi Bar Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui condemned David’s release and termed it an “illegal move”.

In their general body meeting, lawyers passed a unanimous resolution condemning the release of Davis, and held the provincial and federal governments responsible for the act.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 18th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Furious protests rock Peshawar</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134246/furious-protests-rock-peshawar</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134246/furious-protests-rock-peshawar#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 18 Mar 11 04:37:12 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[K-P]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=134246</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Political parties, religious groups and student organisations protest against Raymond Davis' release.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Political parties, religious groups and student organisations staged demonstrations at various venues of Peshawar on Thursday to protest against the release of CIA contractor Raymond Davis.


The bulk of the protestors were members of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI), Pakistan People’s Party-Sherpao (PPP-S) and student wings of Pakistan Muslim League-Q, Shabab-e-Milli, and Islami Jamiat Talba (IJT).

Police resorted to baton-charging and tear gassing protestors at University of Peshawar campus, arresting at-least eight students. However, they were freed later in the evening. The students had planned to march to Peshawar Press Club.

JI arranged a rally in the evening that began at Hashtnagri Chowk and ended at Ashraf Road, where party leaders addressed the participants. The rally was led by the party’s senior leaders Sirajul Haq, Shabbir Ahmed Khan and Professor Ibrahim Khan. Haq opined in his speech that the masses would not tolerate the government’s handling of the issue and would revolt against them. He lambasted Nawaz Sharif and President Asif Zardari for “jointly betraying the nation.”

Members of the party’s student wing (IJT) also held a rally from Hashtnagri to Findus Chowk, where they burned tyres and blockaded the Grand Trunk Road, causing inconvenience to travelers.

IJT’s Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Nazim of Abd-ush-Shakoor and Campus Nazim Sohaibuddin led the protesting students. “It is a shame for the rulers and us that America got her citizen released by force,” they said in their addresses.

Condemning the release of Davis, PTI provincial secretary Farman claimed that the slain’s family members “had been compelled to pardon the killer by accepting blood money (Diyat).” He said that the rulers had humiliated the country by releasing Davis and alleged that the American “was not only involved in the assassination of two Pakistanis but also in other subversive activities.”

Students of Kohat University also staged a protest in Kohat. FATA Students Federation expressed their anger over Davis’ release.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 18th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Bar condemns govts for Davis release</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134209/bar-condemns-govts-for-davis-release</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134209/bar-condemns-govts-for-davis-release#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 18 Mar 11 03:50:13 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Punjab]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=134209</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[LHCBA holds COAS, ISI chief, LHC CJ, interior minister and federal and provincial governments responsible.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The Lahore High Court Bar Association’s (LHCBA’s) general house, on Thursday, held the Chief of Army Staff, the Inter-Services Intelligence director general, the Interior Minister, the chief justice of the Lahore High Court and federal and provincial governments responsible for Raymond Davis’s release and condemned them all.


The LHCBA issued this condemnation in a unanimous resolution moved by Arshad Malik Awan, secretary of the LHCBA. The lawyers also held a protest demonstration against Davis’s release on The Mall.

The house also demanded resignations of the federal and provincial government for damage to the image of the country. It also demanded the Chief Justice of Pakistan take suo motu notice to unearth the truth, otherwise the LHCBA would file a petition before the Supreme Court against Davis’s acquittal. It said that the LHCBA would also constitute a committee of lawyers to establish and disclose the names of those who had paid the diyat amount. The house also condemned the alleged illegal detention of Advocate Asad Manzoor for four hours at Kot Lakhpat Jail barring him from attending the court proceedings in the Davis case.

The LHCBA will also observe a black day on Friday against Davis’s release and boycott the courts all day.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 18th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Street protests leave city traffic in a mess</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134110/street-protests-leave-city-traffic-in-a-mess</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134110/street-protests-leave-city-traffic-in-a-mess#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 18 Mar 11 03:37:16 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[rameez.khan]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Punjab]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=134110</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Traffic on several major roads remain suspended for more than four hours due to a surfeit of street protests.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Traffic on several major roads remained suspended for more than four hours due to a surfeit of street protests on Thursday. The reasons varied from anger at Raymond Davis’s release to demands for salary raises and against the anti-encroachment drive.


The protestors blocked the roads and diversions fom 10 am to 2 pm causing problems for the commuters as well as traffic wardens.

Three major protests were held at Charing Cross from 10:30 am to 2 pm by the Young Doctors’ Association (YDA), the Teachers’ Union and the All Pakistan Clerks Association.

YDA members also protested at Jail Road holding traffic from both sides from 10:30 am and 1 pm; at Ferozepur Road where traffic was blocked during 10:30 am to 2 pm; and at Canal Road where no traffic was allowed through the Ferozepur underpass to Jail Road underpass from 10:30 am to 2 pm.

Traders from Montgomery Road and Tyre Market in Nila Gumbad protested at Bota Mal Chowkl against the district administration’s anti-encroachment campaign.

Lawyers blocked the road at GPO Chowk for about an hour; tyres were burned at Kalima Chowk where traffic remained suspended for an hour due and the Islami Jamiat-i-Talba activists blocked the Egerton Road and the Davis Road converging in front of the American consulate for more than two hours to a protest against Raymond Davis’s release.

A traffic warden, talking to The Express Tribune, complained about how citizens were inconvenienced by the protesters. He said, “They promise to remain on roadsides and create no hindrance to traffic, but then get carried away.”

He said the proximity of the timings of protests and school and college dismissals, reduced the traffic to a mess.

Anjum Javed a school teacher, on his way home said that while the protests might be justified, the protesters had created problems for many people in many ways.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 18th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Punjab Assembly: PML-N, PPP find common ground on Davis release</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134248/punjab-assembly-pml-n-ppp-find-common-ground-on-davis-release</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134248/punjab-assembly-pml-n-ppp-find-common-ground-on-davis-release#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 18 Mar 11 03:25:30 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[abdul.manan]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Punjab]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=134248</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Law Minister Rana Sanaullah says that the outcome flowed from Shariah.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and the Pakistan Peoples Party on Thursday found common ground in the debate on the acquittal and release of US national Raymond Davis during the fifth day of the Punjab Assembly session.


Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said that the outcome flowed from Shariah. He insisted that the provincial government had no role in it. The PPP members said the way the case was handled was commendable. They saw occasion to congratulate the nation for the government’s achievement in making the US submit to the Pakistani law.

The Pakistan Muslim League –Quaid and the Mutahidda Majlis-e-Amal, however, protested against the release. The latter staged a walk out from the house.

Speaking on a point of order, PML-Q parliamentary leader Chaudhry Zaheer criticised the government for not lodging an FIR against Davis under the charge of spying. He also asked why the government had not challenged the court’s decision to let Davis go in the illegal weapons case. with a nominal fine.

If US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s statement that the US government had paid no compensation was to be believed, he asked, then who had paid the diyat amount to the families.

The law minister said that the counsel for the accused, Advocate Raja Irshad Kayani, had paid the compensation amount on behalf his client. He suggested also that rather than raising objections to the court verdict in the assembly, Zaheer move a review petition before the court.

He said the government could not charge Davis with espionage because of the Interior Ministry’s failure to respond to its letter seeking information about the wireless set and the camera recovered from Davis. He said these items were sent to the Intelligence Bureau and later the Inter Services Intelligence.

Sanaullah said he was not aware of the whereabouts of the families of the deceased. He said they might be avoiding public attention.

He told the House that all members of the two families mentioned in the settlement had personally submitted affidavits before the additional district and sessions’ judge, testifying that they were going into a diyat settlement.

He rejected Advocate Asad Manzoor Butt’s claim that his clients (Faizan and Fahim’s families) had been coerced into signing the deal.

Responding to a question about Ebadur Rahman’s case, He said the Foreign Office had  yet to respond to the five letters written by the provincial government.

He said the letters were written after the US consulate in Lahore had told the government that it needed to contact the US government for information regarding the driver who had crushed Rahman on January 27.

Responding to opposition leader’s question about the young doctors’ strike, Senior Advisor to the Chief Minister Sirdar Zulfiqar Khosa said that the pay raise doctors were demanding required Rs38 billion. He said the government was not in a position to arrange the amount immediately.

Six bills presented before the house on Thursday were referred to the committees concerned. Of the two call attention notices, one was dealt with during the session and the other disposed of because of the absence of PPP’s Shaukat Mehmood Basra, who had submitted the notice on March 14.

PML-Q’s Sameena Khawar Hayat’s privilege motion against District Officer (Revenue) Zulfiqar Ghumman was also referred to the committee concerned.

The session was adjourned till Friday 10 am.

Riaz moves for prayers for Nawaz

On a point of order, Opposition leader in the Punjab Assembly, Raja Riaz, asked the house to pray for the early recovery of Pakistan Muslim League’s chief Nawaz Sharif. Sharif was rushed to a hospital in London on Wednesday after he reportedly suffered from heart problem.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 18th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Security beefed up amid threat to lawmakers</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134295/security-beefed-up-amid-threat-to-lawmakers</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134295/security-beefed-up-amid-threat-to-lawmakers#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 18 Mar 11 03:00:39 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[zahid.gishkori]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=134295</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Davis release, Bhatti assassination viewed as trigger events for violent extremists.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The lives of close to two dozen lawmakers are in danger as certain elements are trying to target them over a recent row over the release of CIA contractor Raymond Davis and assassination of Minorities Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti.


“It’s a very dangerous situation, yes, but we can take proper measures by revamping the security plan,” a senior official of law enforcement agency informed a high-level meeting chaired by Interior Minister Rehman Malik.

Although law enforcement officials did not disclose the names of lawmakers facing the risk, they were curious enough to point out that they (the lawmakers) were receiving threatening calls from some banned outfits, sources said.

In this context, Rehman Malik ordered ‘aerial surveillance’ of Islamabad for ensuring lawmakers’ security, who will have to attend the joint session of parliament next week.

Stringent security measures will be employed for President Asif Ali Zardari who will address the session on March 22. All heads of armed forces, governors, ministers, ambassadors, prominent political personalities and high-ranking officials will be in attendance, they added.

Secret agencies have information that certain terror elements will try to sabotage peace and security across the country particularly in major cities including federal capital in the coming days, one of the officials told the meeting.

“It is a common fear that terrorists can attack important places,” the representatives of law enforcement agencies told the minister.

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, which claimed responsibility for Shahbaz Bhatti’s assassination, has already announced to launch attack on public representatives in reprisal for the release of Raymond Davis.

The minister directed the officials to enhance security of lawmakers, especially ministers, to avoid any untoward situation. Malik also ordered federal as well as provincial police officials to ensure effective security measures through checking entry and exit points of big cities.

“The police personnel equipped with metal detectors and automatic weapons would be deployed at the mosques at prayer times,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 18th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Raymond Davis case: The forgotten victim</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134313/the-forgotten-victim</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134313/the-forgotten-victim#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 18 Mar 11 02:51:26 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Rana Yasif]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=134313</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Family of bystander who was crushed to death yet to get justice.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The heirs of Ibadur-Rehman, the man who had been crushed to death by a would-be rescuer of Raymond Davis, are being neglected by all political parties, even those seeking to capitalise on the Davis affair, claimed Mashood-ur-Rehman, Ibad’s younger brother.


“Political parties do not care whether my family will get justice or not,” said Mashhood in an interview with The Express Tribune. “Politicians are working for their vote bank.”

He said that the poor masses of this country were disappointed whenever they needed the assistance of ruling parties. Lashing out at the PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, he said that Sharif routinely left for abroad whenever sensitive developments occurred in the country.

When asked whether they would make a deal if offered, he adamantly claimed that they would never do this as did the families of the other  victims. He said that they would never sell our brother’s blood and would fight till the last drop of their blood.

Mashhood said that their family decided to protest on the streets and will remain on the streets till they were granted justice. He said that their mother wept inconsolably for her son Ibad. When asked if his relatives would back him if he comes on roads, he replied that they were united. He claimed that his family members and what he called “all Pakistanis” would pour out onto the streets and join them.

“They would kill us like the wife of Faheem if justice was not awarded them,” he said, apparently alleging that the wife of one of Davis’ victims, who had committed suicide, may have been murdered.

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif met with Mashhood’s family a few days ago, promising them justice. After the release of Davis, however, Mashhood is not hopeful.

None of the US officials allegedly in the car that killed Ibad have been arrested.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 18th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Davis release rehearsed one day earlier</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134312/davis-release-rehearsed-one-day-earlier</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134312/davis-release-rehearsed-one-day-earlier#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 18 Mar 11 02:41:36 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[asad.kharal]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=134312</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Punjab government collaborated with agencies to ensure release.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The release of Raymond Davis was arranged in less than 48 hours and was a result of collaboration between the Punjab government and intelligence agencies, both of whom had interests in ensuring the release, according to sources familiar with the matter.


Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah, in collaboration with agencies, managed the entire release operation in less than 48 hours, sources said.

On March 15, the Punjab home secretary, the inspector-general of the Punjab police, and the commissioner of Lahore visited the Kot Lakhpat jail, where Davis was being held, between 10 am and noon. Intelligence officials visited the jail around 2 pm. Sources say that each of the aforementioned officials was visiting to ensure the security arrangements for Davis’ release.

In order to ensure a smooth release, Davis’ route from the jail to the airport was timed. Earlier that morning, at 3:52 am, Davis was taken to the airport and brought back around 5:45 am.

Rana Sanaullah was kept informed of the entire operation, sources say.

The families of Davis’ two victims were picked up later that night and taken into “protective custody” while the paperwork for accepting the blood money was carried out. Their mobile phones were taken away from them, to avoid “leakage” of news of the impending release.

On March 16, Carmela Conroy, US Consul General in Lahore, along with four other US diplomats, arrived at Kot Lakhpat jail. At 11:29 am, the  judge presiding over the case resumed the hearing, at which the families of the deceased were also present, despite having already signed documents accepting compensation for the murder of two young men.

During the proceedings, Davis was formally indicted on two counts of murder. The hearing ended at 3.49 pm. Seven minutes later, a US Consulate vehicle arrived at the jail to escort Davis out of the jail. He left Kot Lakhpat at 4.11 pm. Conroy left about 20 minutes later.

In the next half hour, the families of the two victims, Faizan and Fahim, also left the jail, accompanied by their lawyers.

During the entire day on Wednesday, spooks took over the jail, including the superintendent’s office. The staff had been instructed by the Punjab law minister to allow the men  to conduct whatever business they needed to.

The entire jail staff was told to submit their mobile phones to the officials, who kept them for the duration of the release operation.

None of the jail staff were aware that Davis was about to be released.

Entry and exit into the jail on that day was strictly controlled.

Source say that the compensation paid to the victims’ families was not paid by the US government but instead came from an unidentified Pakistan government account.

The federal and Punjab governments have sought reports regarding the expected reaction to Davis’ release from their respective agencies.

Measures are being taken to minimise the expected agitation. Law enforcement agencies have also begun preparing lists of active parties’ leaders who participated in agitation and a close surveillance of the leaders and activists has started. It is believed that the whole operation to spring Raymond Davis was done to discredit the elected government, say some officials.

Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah was contacted to comment about his role in the matter, but did not respond despite repeated attempts to contact him.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 18th, 2011.]]>
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			</item><item>
			<title>Expected agitation: US Embassy, consulates closed</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/133925/us-to-close-embassy-consulates-amid-protests</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/133925/us-to-close-embassy-consulates-amid-protests#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 18 Mar 11 02:20:03 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=133925</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[One day closure &quot;for public safety at large becaus­e there may be demons­tratio­ns&quot;.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[The United States will shut its embassy and consulates in Pakistan until further notice, asking its diplomats to limit their movements, in anticipation of protests against the release of CIA operative Raymond Davis. Protests against the release began on Wednesday night, alarming US officials. The protests in front of the US consulate in Lahore turned violent, leaving 19 people, including four police officers, injured.


The news that further protests were planned led US officials to decide on the closure. The embassy issued a formal notice announcing the closure of US diplomatic missions for routine business in Pakistan until further notice.

US Embassy Spokesperson Alberto Rodriguez said that visa appointments would continue, though the embassy would not be conducting any other business. Rodriguez did not give a date for reopening but said that services will reopen all over Pakistan at the same time.

Davis wife speaks out

Rebecca Davis, Raymond Davis’ wife, on Thursday said she is confident her husband acted in self-defence when he shot and killed two Pakistani men, Faizan Haider and Muhammad Faheem.

She said she was also sure her husband would return to the US but did not know when. When asked about the blood money, she said that she was unaware of the amount or the source of the funds.

Rebecca also claimed to have received letters from Davis, but was not able to speak to him while he was incarcerated. She said she learned about her husband’s acquittal through phone calls from people who she did not name.

MQM’s Altaf Hussain speaks out

Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Altaf Hussain has demanded that the Punjab government release the families of the men who were shot by Raymond Davis in Lahore. Even the father of Shumaila, the deceased wife of Fahim, is missing and should be released immediately, he said.

In a statement issued from London, Hussain condemned the alleged detention and torture of Shumaila’s father, uncle and other family members. He said this behaviour violates the laws of Sharia and human rights. Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif should have provided protection to these families and made efforts to give them justice, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 18th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Reactions to Davis release: Protests likely to continue today</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134097/reactions-to-davis-release-protests-likely-to-continue-today</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134097/reactions-to-davis-release-protests-likely-to-continue-today#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 17 Mar 11 18:31:15 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=134097</guid>
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				<![CDATA[Political, civil society groups ask ‘where is the chief justice now’.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Hundreds of “betrayed” protesters took to the streets in Karachi and other parts of Sindh to condemn a court’s decision to acquit the alleged CIA contractor, Raymond Davis.


The Pakistan Tehreeke-e-Insaf gathered at the Karachi Press Club on Thursday.  “We did not ask Pakistan to become slaves, it’s about our future,” said Arsalan T Ghumman of the Insaf Students Federation. “We made a resolution this month about 71 years ago and if we continue to remain subservient to foreign powers, we will have no future.”

“It’s not about Davis leaving Pakistan. We are against Pakistan’s alliance with the Americans that makes us compromise our sovereignty,” said Sarosh Sagheer, a student of Mohammad Ali Jinnah University.

Despite TV channels flashing news of blood money payment, some protesters were still unsure about the families. “We do not know whether the families pardoned Davis willingly,” said Fatima. “The families were not given protection after the incident, which means they were left alone for the Americans to manipulate and influence,” added Awab Alvi, a social activist. “It was an ‘open and shut’ case and you feel suspicious when something goes so swiftly.”

Ehsanullah Khan said the Americans had been hypocritical. “While we were being urged to amend the Sharia law, they [the Americans] used a loophole in it for their own benefit,” he said.

The PTI’s Dr Arif Alvi felt that the decision was taken after the government put the pressure on. “Everything had been arranged a week ahead,” he said.

The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) also organised a rally. Activists gathered outside the Empress Market and marched towards Regal Chowk, where they staged a sit-in. The JI’s Muhammed Hussain Mehnti said that the release of a man, whose hands are stained with the blood of four innocent Pakistanis, is a matter of shame.

Dr Aafia Siddiqui was imprisoned for 86 years over a crime she never committed but the confirmed killer of two people walked free, he said.

Pasban, led by Altaf Shakoor, staged a demonstration outside the press club. The JI women’s wing also protested Davis’s release. “It is a conspiracy against the country,” said JI Karachi’s vice president during the rally on MA Jinnah Road. He blamed the Pakistan Peoples Party, the Awami National Party, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and the Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz for creating a “drama” of the victims’ families getting blood money.

The Sunni Ittehad Council announced a countrywide strike on Friday (today). The Sunni Rehbar Council promised support. The Imamia Students Organisation announced that they will observe a black day today. The ISO’s Rehman Ali Shah, Maulana Ammar Haider and other officials gave a press conference at the Sukkur Press Club in which they accused the federal and Punjab government of following the American agenda.

Sindh National Front chief Mumtaz Ali Bhutto condemned the release of Raymond Davis. Islami Tehreek Pakistan’s Allama Sajid Ali Naqvi also talked to the media at Sukkur airport. He was not surprised by Davis’ release. “The country is on the brink of poverty similar to Somalia and there is no writ of the government,” he said.

With additional input from PPI

Published in The Express Tribune, March 18th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Realism has won</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134000/realism-has-won</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134000/realism-has-won#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 17 Mar 11 17:47:43 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[shahzad chaudhry]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=134000</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Pakistan needs money, America needs operations against militants of their choice. Both will be met to a degree only.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Raymond Davis is on his way home as I write these lines. And, just as well, because in return we expect the suspended $600-million tranche of the Kerry-Lugar funds to cross his flight somewhere over the Atlantic. A few other things may have been resolved. The Afghan war can be back to its end-state self; the hiatus on operations in support of, or linked to, this 10-year-old war will again find mention and perhaps re-initiation in some earnest — and in case people hadn’t noticed, it has been all quiet on the western front of late! That indeed is the other unresolved dilemma of the Afghan war — if Pakistan just tones down the pitch of the battle a bit, it seems there isn’t a more dreadfully quiet place than the Pakistan-Afghan border. What may David Petraeus et al be up to, is anyone’s guess.

There wasn’t another way to the Raymond Davis affair despite our ghairat and idealist brigades going berserk over the whole affair. Both of them have a constituency to please. Between the Taseer and Bhatti murders came the Davis affair. This, in a continuum, provided for a ready stage to the ghairat brigade to brandish its wares. The religious political parties, and those that hoped to become political, used these three occasions to appear larger than their true political standing as they whipped fervour and emotion in the name of religion. Remember, we were shown the way by the most honourable Samuel Huntington with his epic: The Clash of Civilizations and Remaking of the World Order. George the Junior of the Bush clan gave meaning to it, and Osama bin Laden and his coterie followed hook, line and sinker.

What we have in Pakistan today, and for that matter in most parts of the Muslim world, in turn is some vibrant anti-Americanism that takes various colours — religious in the civilisational clash character, and nationalist and idealist for those that have internal scores to settle. This needs to be explained.

The idealists long for a Jeffersonian utopia without giving a quarter to an under-paved ground which is still in the process of providing traction to politics. Their only, and repetitive, refrain is for the inability of the civilian/democratic government to bridle the military. Nothing wrong with that as a motive, but there remain some inhibitors — the military itself being not so insignificant. For the others: the Politics does not yet have the requisite credibility or the confidence in its own ability to question the military and hence contend for control; and, knowing well that with various peculiarities at play, in this dynamic of seeking civilian control of the military, the objective is not about to happen and mauling the image of the military is its only spoil. Why do they do it? It is as much of a 600-million-dollar question or perhaps the Rs200 million that exchanged hands as the diyat amount in Davis’s release. They may not need any of the 18 green cards that were the additional carrots in this well demonstrated religious-legal process, they may already have those rights fore-granted.

Consider: Raymond Davis was indicted, which proved his crime and he was taken through a judicial process. The heirs of the victims thus found it legally and religiously correct to seek a diyat compensation from a confirmed criminal. This covered all tracks. As for the state: The alliance of the unequals survives for some desperate, mutually exclusive objectives. Pakistan needs the money, America needs operations against the militant extremists of their choice. Both will be met to a degree only. One hopes, though, that the biggest of all the plucking would mean clear rules of business between the ISI and the CIA on the functioning of the Raymonds in their midst, as long as they operate on premises set by Pakistan. Also, that the CIA will never again send a fool on a mission and that they will work through the system following all requirements, if they ever need to flag diplomatic immunity. Or, maybe Pakistan just might sell them back.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 18th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Righteousness gets it so right</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134006/righteousness-gets-it-so-right</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134006/righteousness-gets-it-so-right#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 17 Mar 11 17:46:24 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[ayesha.tammy.haq]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=134006</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Ironic that the right, who clamour about rule of law, are not happy seeing it applied where it does not suit them.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Raymond Davis, murderer, spy, CIA contractor, US citizen, diplomat, take your pick. Whatever and however labelled, he has managed to invoke a piece of legislation which compounds murder, and allows the murderer to pay compensation to the victim’s families and walk away. General Ziaul Haq, in his zeal to remove all shreds of humanity, bequeathed us a package of so-called Islamic laws, of which the Qisas and Diyat Ordinance was a part, that came to be known as the Hudood Ordinances. Mr Nawaz Sharif, in his quest for his personal Holy Grail and position as God’s vice- regent, took this already exploitative law and made it part of the Pakistan Penal Code.

The qisas and diyat provisions have been used most effectively to deny justice, to women and vulnerable members of society. Murder, most often due to disputes over property, has been sanctioned in the name of honour killing. If the qisas and diyat provisions are invoked, the offence of murder becomes compoundable and the accused merely pays an agreed compensation to the victim’s family and walks away. In most cases the accused and the heir are the same person; the husband, the father, the brother. Doesn’t sound right, does it? No it doesn’t. It’s a well-established legal principle that you cannot benefit from your illegal action.

None of our defenders of the faith or our right-wing advocates, who have been shouting for justice for Aafia Siddiqui, have ever stood up and said that the law is exploitative and patently bad. It was, after all, the genius of a military dictator who, in the tradition of the worst kind of medieval despots, used religion and fuelled it with ignorance to keep his illegal hold on power. Steeped in ignorance, they shied away from what we conveniently call controversy. Don’t touch the law, it’s tantamount to messing with the faith, and we all know how dire the consequences of that can be.

So enter Raymond Davis, murderer, spy, diplomat, and he invokes the law. The law protected so fiercely by the righteous. The law used to condone the murders of so many women and other weak and vulnerable segments of society. One has not heard Imran Khan, Sheikh Rashid or the Jamaat-i-Islami speak out about injustice then. Why do they speak now? Why is Davis any different from Saima’s mother who had her daughter murdered in her lawyer’s chambers? Is it because he is an American? Surely that should work better. He will pay in dollars and, given the exchange rate, it is way better than the compensation paid, or allegedly paid, in the hundreds of honour killing cases.

It’s the law, and sadly, the Pakistani mind is not good when it comes to the law. We forget that there will always be someone richer, more powerful and more able to exploit the provisions of a bad law than us. So, while the rich and powerful have been exploiting the qisas and diyat provisions to deal with troublesome women for over thirty years, it is amusing to see them in a complete flap over someone, with access to significant resources, invoke the same provisions and, to their chagrin, do so successfully.

Perhaps now they will realise that murder means murder. That it is not perfectly acceptable for anyone to pick up a gun and shoot someone, simply because they do not agree with them. It’s time to realise that all citizens are equal and should be accorded the same protection by the law. Citizens of Pakistan should not have to live in fear of being called blasphemers, kari’s and the like. They should have comfort in the fact that there is such a thing as rule of law, and that it will apply without fear or favour to all.

It’s ironic that the right, who clamour about the rule of law, are now not happy seeing it applied where it does not suit them. The knife they have wielded so mercilessly has now come to rest in their backs. This is the time for all those who want to see a just and equitable Pakistan, to come together and finally rid ourselves of General Zia’s horrible legacy. The righteous, it appears from all accounts, have seen the light.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 18th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Raymond Davis and hypocrisy</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134004/raymond-davis-and-hypocrisy</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134004/raymond-davis-and-hypocrisy#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 17 Mar 11 17:45:48 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[nadir.hassan]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=134004</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Instead of setting a legal precedent, releasing Davis has ensured that we fight the same battle at a later date.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Poet Walt Whitman once said “Do I contradict myself? Very well then, I contradict myself. I am large, I contain multitudes”. It’s a quote I like to trot out whenever I find myself arguing for every conceivable position on some pressing issue of the day. It allows me to fool myself into feeling pride, rather than shame, at my indecision.

Anyone who has ventured an opinion on the Raymond Davis saga has to admit, that he or she is operating from a position of ignorance. Outside of a few government officials, no one can say with any certainty whether Davis had diplomatic status. Since the entire case hinges on the issue of immunity, any thoughts offered hinge entirely on emotion and prejudice rather than logic.

Broadly speaking, opinions on Davis were divided along ideological lines. Those infused with ultra-nationalism or religious fervour, declared that murder is murder. The nuances of diplomatic immunity were lost on them. Then, there were the liberals and realists who ruefully argued that, as a client state of the US, Pakistan had no option but to release Davis. His diplomatic status was merely a useful tool employed to add meat to an argument that had already been formulated.

In the two months that the controversy invaded the public consciousness, opinions solidified and became even more intractable. This dogmatism should have become untenable when Davis was released under the qisas and diyat laws. The outcome was one the liberals desired, but the underlying justification for it should have been anathema to them. Conversely, the qisas and diyat laws have long been championed by the Sharia crowd. Using those same laws to free an American spy was like bowling a bit of a googly.

Instead of giving everyone pause to re-examine their own opinions about the Davis case, both sides have been having a field day pointing out the hypocrisies of their ideological opponents. Liberals are laughing at the mullahs, who after arguing for the qisas and diyat laws for years, are now decrying the fact that the hateful and imperialist Americans are the ones benefiting from it. But they are purposely forgetting their own culpability in sidestepping the fact that, the desired outcome was achieved only by using laws they stringently oppose.

In the midst of this frenzy of point-scoring, none of us seem to have realised that other than the immediate issue of Raymond Davis’s future, not a single issue has been resolved. Since Davis was freed before his claim of immunity could be ruled upon, the status of US officials who straddle the line between diplomacy and espionage is still undetermined. With so many Americans roaming the land, another Davis is sure to crop up soon enough. Instead of setting a legal precedent, releasing Raymond Davis has simply ensured that we fight the same battle at a later date.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 18th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Raymond Davis and our national honour</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134003/raymond-davis-and-our-national-honour</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134003/raymond-davis-and-our-national-honour#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 17 Mar 11 17:45:26 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[raza.rumi]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=134003</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Pakistan needs to strengthen its economy, undertake major social reform and only then it can dictate with power.]]>
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				<![CDATA[A few weeks ago, when the Raymond Davis saga had gripped the public imagination, I had humbly suggested, on a TV show, that this issue was not going to be resolved either through street protests, or by invoking the absurd ‘national honour’ discourse. There was only one solution: Recourse to the laws (international and domestic). The ghairat brigade had a field day for at least a month by flogging the useless anti-Americanism horse and short-sighted elected politicians, such as a former foreign minister, also risked their political careers by exposing whom they were actually reporting to.

Other than the usual suspects crying foul over Americans having coerced 18 members of Davis’s victims’ families to accept a blood money settlement, the saga has ended rather swiftly indicating that when Pakistan’s security establishment wants to do something, it achieves the objective rather quickly. The families have accepted a hefty settlement and reportedly relocated. Ironically, the settlement is in accordance with the Pakistani laws imposed by Zia’s political descendents. Luckily, no dangerous precedents were set by the Foreign Office (under pressure), declaring that Raymond Davis did not have diplomatic immunity. This settlement also helped the national punching bag, President Zardari and his tottering government, of appearing as US lackeys by certifying Davis’s immunity. Most importantly, the Punjab government, controlled by the biggest opposition party and the security establishment, have been fully onboard. In short, the quiet behind-the-scenes diplomacy worked out well, saving us from the brink of an unnecessary collision with a world power whom we love to hate, but zealously served since 1947.

International and local punditry, on the breakdown of the ISI-CIA relationship, also proved to be a bogey, as the two organisations continued to engage and find a solution. Whether such a solution was desirable, strictly on the canons of international law, is a different subject altogether. The most important lesson that we may note for our future misadventures is not to whip public emotion against law, reason and civilised norms of diplomacy. As it is, we have misinformed the public, packed lies into textbooks and allowed the mullahs and media mujahideen to spread hate at will. All of this is definitely not in our national interest or national dignity. We can only be protecting our honour if we appear as a law-abiding, civilised polity and not a jingoistic state, full of armed lunatics in the public domain.

We were told that Zardari’s goose would be cooked if he were to let Raymond Davis go through the Foreign Office channels. It appears that Zardari, even after his deft handling of the political game in Pakistan, continues to be underestimated. Questions about his ethics and legitimacy aside, he has yet again established his skill in averting and negotiating several crises. Of course, the Pakistani right is going to portray him as a villain even after their favorite diyat and qisas laws have been applied in the Davis affair.

Unconfirmed reports suggest that the guardians of national honour, despite their loud proclamations, could only muster a few thousand rupees to look after the families of Davis’ victims. Media reports suggested that the right wing religious parties had made generous offers to the victims’ families, should they reject the diyat package from the evil US. This also reminds one of the Aafia Siddiqui case, where, reportedly, her brother could only raise $10,000 from the Pakistani/Muslim community in the US and that’s why the Pakistani government had to intervene to defray Aafia’s legal defence costs totaling $2 million!

Honour-obsessed TV anchors and analysts have not liked the outcome of this saga and some are loudly claiming that qisas and diyat laws were not applicable in this particular case. Or the families have been pressurised and that Pakistan has not protected its sovereignty. Quite frankly, they will have to swallow the propaganda they have churned out and, for a change, answer for their ignorance of laws, international politics and history. Pakistan needs to strengthen its economy, undertake major social reform and only then it can think of dictating to the world with augmented bargaining power. Nuclear prowess alone cannot please the gods. Simple.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 18th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>After the release</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134001/after-the-release</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/134001/after-the-release#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 17 Mar 11 17:05:35 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[editorial]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Editorial]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=134001</guid>
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				<![CDATA[Religious parties, right wing elements should really not be objecting at all given their support for ‘Islamic’ laws.]]>
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				<![CDATA[The fear of a backlash by orthodox forces always seems to be greater than the actual event. There was apprehension of large-scale protests after Pakistan opted to support the US in the aftermath of 9/11 2001; nothing happened beyond a few days of violent street rallies. Similarly, the release of Raymond Davis, following a settlement based on the handing over of blood money, has so far resulted in only a few sporadic demonstrations and some vitriolic comments from the usual gang of suspects (read: Self-righteous TV show hosts).

There is irony in the fact that the Jamaat-i-Islami, whose members attempted to break into the US Consulate in Lahore following the CIA contractor’s release, should have to face the reality that he was let-off under the qisas and diyat laws, proposed by the late General Ziaul Haq, a key mentor for the party. The religious parties and the right wing elements should really not be objecting at all — given their support for ‘Islamic’ laws and their vehement disapproval of all suggestions that, in at least some cases, reform is urgently needed to prevent misuse (as in the case of honour killings) of the legislation. Perhaps a realisation that they have been beaten at their own game explains their response so far. As for the public’s reaction, other than pockets of anger, as reported by this newspaper, there has not been a mass outpouring of public rage.

Of course, this not to say that people are not feeling disappointed and frustrated by the quick unfolding of the whole affair, especially since the fate of the third man’s family and what happens to the quest for finding his killer is left unresolved. In all of this, perhaps, it is difficult to ignore the fact that the media, or significant sections of it certainly, willingly or unknowingly, played into the hands of those who think themselves to be keepers of the nation’s sovereignty and this perhaps led many people to think that releasing Davis would be tantamount to selling our national honour for a few dollars. If anything, it can be said that for a change, all centres of power — the federal and the Punjab governments  and the military — were all on the same page on this issue.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 18th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Raymond Davis pardon documents</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/133885/raymond-davis-pardon-documents</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/133885/raymond-davis-pardon-documents#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 17 Mar 11 11:32:27 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=133885</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Copies of Raymon­d Davis’ signed applic­ation for settle­ment throug­h blood-money can be viewed here.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[The Express Tribune has received scanned copies of Raymond Davis’s signed application for settlement through blood-money (diyat).

The documents, which include the signatures of the families of the victims gunned down in Lahore can be viewed here.

Davis was released by a Sessions Judge Yousuf Aujla yesterday after the families of the victims pardoned Davis in exchange for blood money.

Federal Minister for Information Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan has said that the release of Davis after the payment of blood money is in accordance with Shariah Law.]]>
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