Raymond Davis must face the music

We have to send a message to Washington. If we don’t send this message, he will only be the first of others!

Some days ago, a security consultant by the name of Raymod Davis employed by the US consulate in Lahore, shot and killed two young men in Lahore in broad daylight. He was overtaken by the two men, who were riding a motorcycle, when he stopped at a red traffic light. A backup vehicle summoned by Davis from the consulate, jumped the curb on the wrong side of the road, running over and killing an innocent bystander on a motorcycle. The backup vehicle escaped, but Davis was apprehended.

That Davis was no ordinary technician, as was initially claimed, was immediately obvious to the discerning from his ability to use a handgun. Anybody who has used one can tell you that it requires considerable expertise to put a bullet in a target, even at short-range. Raymond fired eight rounds and each one found its mark; four to each dead body. What is more, after killing them, Raymond walked up to the bodies to calmly photograph them on his mobile phone; all the hallmarks of a true professional.

Both dead men also had handguns on them; one in a holster, the other lying on the road; but neither weapon had been discharged! Raymond claimed self-defence with the plea that he had only just withdrawn a large sum of money and these boys were seeking to rob him; this is well within the realms of possibility. Such incidents are not uncommon on our roads. However, foul play was suspected when it was discovered that each body had two bullets in the back; probably the ones resulting in their deaths. Now, if one is experienced with the use of weapons, one is aware that if the first round hits an individual, let us say, on the shoulder, its force will turn him around, though usually not 180 degrees. Even if the latter were possible, two bullets in the back of each? That would make anyone suspect!

What is more, if they were seeking to rob him, he could only be certain if at least one had drawn a weapon. The fact that one weapon was lying on the ground makes it a possibility that the weapon was in the hands of one of the boys or, alternately, it could have fallen from his belt, if it was not in a strap down holster. However, even if the young men were amateurs, which also is distinctly possible, and the first bullet to hit one only injured him, he should still have been able to release at least one round.

Davis has been charged under section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code, (PPC) i.e. murder with intent. If convicted, he could be sentenced to life imprisonment, or death.

Ironically, despite the fact that the incident took place in broad daylight, witnessed, presumably, by hundreds of people, the public has not been made aware of any details of the incident: Was it a robbery? Did the young men draw their weapons first? Were they even facing Davis threateningly? Admittedly, people may not have been paying attention initially, but even a true professional would take a few seconds to let loose eight rounds at two different targets, even if they were close together. Time enough for neighbouring pedestrians and commuters to see some details of the incident. If they did, the media has not relayed much. Consequently, we have to make assumptions from the known facts and give Davis the benefit of the doubt, if and where it is due. From the known facts, the evidence appears fairly damning.

Finally, the US consulate has admitted that Raymond Davis is not his real name, but has not disclosed the real one. We shall, therefore, continue to address him by his pseudonym. We also now know that he is an employee of Hyperion Protective Consultants — a security firm less well-known than its famous and far larger competitor, Xe.

As expected, the US administration is exerting considerable pressure on Pakistan, demanding that he be granted diplomatic immunity, even though he is not a diplomat and was in possession of an ordinary passport when arrested; later, a diplomatic passport was offered to the police!

Domestically, there is a peculiar tussle going on. Had the incident occurred in Islamabad, the central government might well have granted Raymond diplomatic immunity. However, the incident occurred in the jurisdiction of the Punjab police. Despite US pressure, the central government is helpless, having no jurisdiction. The Sharif brethren stand firmly in defiance, and insist that “the courts will decide”. So far, it seems likely that Davis will have to face the music and the likelihood of conviction. The PPP is quite happy, so long as the US ire is directed at the Sharif brothers. Like many other politicians, they labour under the fond belief that Pakistani elections take place in Washington DC; and this incident might seal the next election in their favour! To add flavour to the whole affair, our honest interior minister has finally ‘admitted’ to the Senate that Raymond did, in fact, have a diplomatic visa; ironically, his last visa on this ‘diplomatic’ passport was issued in Islamabad!

This is not the only instance where employees and diplomats of the US embassy have been found in possession of weapons, sometimes more lethal ones than a Glock. Some have even brandished them to threaten locals; though this is the first instance of a weapon having been fired.

Some people are quick to accuse our intelligence agencies; unfairly, I think. The real culprit is the central government, under whose instructions our embassy in Washington issues visas to all and sundry, no questions asked. With so many well-armed American citizens roaming our streets, this was a disaster waiting to happen. Davis must face the music in order to send a message to Washington: We have, to our shame, given you carte blanche to kill our citizens with drone attacks, but we will not permit murder in our streets.

If we don’t send this message, he will only be the first of others!

Published in The Express Tribune, February 4^th, 2011.