Lahore Shooting: US consulate refuses to hand over accused

US consulate refuses provincial govt's demand to hand over the other accused Americans.


Express February 09, 2011

The US consulate refused to hand over the remaining accused in the Lahore shooting incident to the Punjab Government on Wednesday.

The Punjab government had barred three more Americans from travelling outside Pakistan on February 7 owing to their involvement in the Lahore shootings. They are accused of running their vehicle over a motorcyclist while trying to rescue Raymond Davis, a detained US citizen, who was involved in a shootout that killed two other men.

Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah has said that the consulate had been asked by the Punjab government to hand over the vehicle and the driver responsible for motorcyclist Ibadur Rehman’s death minutes after Davis had shot dead two people on January 27.

This is the second time that the US consulate has refused the provincial government's demand, Express 24/7 reported.

An official from the federal interior ministry, through the Foreign Office, has also written to the US consulate asking for the three accused to be handed over to the Punjab police.

US lawmakers also threatened Pakistani leaders on Tuesday of cutting aid to the country if Davis is not released. They claimed that Davis was on a diplomatic mission and should be provided diplomatic immunity.

COMMENTS (56)

Ayaz khan | 13 years ago | Reply Correct me if I am wrong Who is actually benefiting from this drama? Politically speaking, Muslim League Nawazsharif ( MLN) or the parties not in Power. Yes indeed, situation would have not been different if the MLN were in power. And who knows about the 'closed door meeting' betwenn Jonh Kerry and Mian Nawaz Sharif? No party has any clear vision about internal and external policies of the country and most of the policies are passive or media oriented. And so far we have not yet reached the conclusion that who determines the Diplomatic Immunity ? The host country, where the embassy is based or the state who sends the diplomatic staff to the Embassy and Can the status or immunity of staff be changed overnight? And which law is superior, Manciple or International and why? but the way Foreign Minister of Pakistan is removed from his office over the disputed stance regarding status of immunity enjoyed by Davis, is a clear evidence that personal interests are more important than national interest. The question is very simple here. If a state is not capable of protecting its citizens from external or internal aggression, then where does it stand in the definition of 'Sovereign State'?
stuart | 13 years ago | Reply I think we may find that the Pakistanis killed were in fact terrorists. If Pakistan cannot control the insurgents then someone else has to. Most of the terrorist trouble in the world has been caused by by Pakistanis either directly or indirectly. There are numerous training camps and all terrorist incidents worldwide seem to have a trip to Pakistan for training somewhere in their stories. If the truth comes out then we will find that the individuals killed had some links to terrorism.Yes summary justice is tough but it is the only way to protect the rest of us. We should all be thankful that brave guys like Raymond Davis are there to protect us by getting those that are responsible for the many atrocities against innocent people all over the globe. it's time for Pakistan to sort their people out, and stop the Islamic fundamentalists from wrecking the planet. Everyones freedom and right of free speech has diminished in the last 30 years as a direct cause of these hate mongers. They have to be stopped so the future is fair for all. We all suffer because of the actions of these mindless morons. Seems there is no justice in Pakistan anyway. Only last week a 14 year old girl was lashed to death in public. What was her crime?.. she was raped by a 40 year old married guy. Was anyone arrested... no!! Its time to sort out Pakistan. If they don't then the solution is simple.... close it . If they can't behave responsibly then there is no place for them in the rest of the world. If no visas no planes no people were allowed in or out you would see how fast they would resolve the problem. How quickly would Osama bin Laden be found. We have been too soft for too long and patience is wearing thin. Time to sort out the real problem!!
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