An American in Lahore

The shooting in Lahore has all the potential to erupt into another public relations disaster for America in Pakistan, where anti-Americanism is already high, whipped up by rightwingers and nationalists as a convenient bogey all the time. The US is held responsible for everything that goes awry in this ‘land of the pure’.

America-bashing has taken the shape of a master craft, which is well-rehearsed and constantly repeated. In such an atmosphere of mistrust and acrimony, a shooting spree that leaves more questions asked than answered is a troubling development and couldn’t have come at a worse time.

One cannot deny that American citizens have to be cautious and wary about their security in the country. They often encounter hostile behaviors and political and religious sentiments override many social interactions. American motives are under constant scrutiny. The alliance with the US is perpetually judged in black and white. Religious and nationalistic rhetoric presents a distorted and skewed relationship between the two countries.

American officials are often labeled as ‘Blackwater operatives’ by some sections of the local media, and this has endangered their lives.

The fact that many Americans and other diplomats carry arms while travelling inside the country, keeping in mind the precarious security situation, is not a secret, and known to both the public and the local law enforcing authorities.

It is still not exactly clear what really happened in Lahore on January 27. Raymond Davis claims that he acted in self-defence. But is he guilty of using excessive force? Could he have acted with more restraint? What is his actual background? Pakistani officials also need to thoroughly investigate the two motorbike riders. Initial accounts by police say that two weapons were found with the two dead. Street crime is nothing new. Is there any credence in the claim by the family of one of the deceased that one weapon was licensed and carried due to a family feud?

The facts need to be ascertained but, more importantly, made open to the public. The law should run its due course.

This unfortunate episode provides a window of opportunity to the US as well. Instead of maintaining a silence, which would result in furthering poisonous rumour mongering and conspiratorial speculations, US officials need to be transparent and open. Their silence would be heard loudly and presented as a testimony of guilt by those who oppose the US in an almost knee-jerk reaction. One incident, if badly handled, can wash away all the good that the United States has done recently for the flood victims in the country.

The shooting has already put the Pakistani government under pressure and officials have tried to dismiss the impression that the US citizen would be meted out any preferential treatment. Mr Davis has been charged with murder. The trial and its proceedings should make for riveting headlines.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 30^th, 2011.