Pakistan

Australian honorary consulates shut down in Lahore, Karachi

Australia issues special instructions to citizens, diplomats in backdrop of Davis controversy.

Express February 14, 2011

ISLAMABAD: The Australian government shut down its honorary consulates in Lahore and Karachi on Monday citing security concerns, reported Express 24/7 correspondent Sohail Chaudhry.

The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade also advised diplomats in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan to move to safer places. They further advised their citizens and diplomats in the country not to take pictures of sensitive installations in the country and stressed that they should follow Pakistani laws under all circumstances.

The department expressed concerns that due to the situation in the country riots can break out any time and therefore citizens and diplomats should be careful, adding further that they should not travel on the constitutional avenue in Islamabad due to fear of attacks.

The department warned Australian citizens in Pakistan that in case of a crime like murder or rape, they would not be able to get their citizens or diplomats out of prison, reports Sohail.

This move comes in the backdrop of heightened diplomatic tensions between Pakistan and the US on the issue of Raymond Davis, a US consular employee accused of killing two Pakistanis in Lahore. The US has been pressurising Pakistan to release Davis as he had diplomatic immunity and shot at the two men in self-defence. Pakistan has so far refused to comply to these demands stating that the law should be allowed to take its course as the case is currently subjudice. The Davis issue has drawn strong anti-American reactions from the public.

COMMENTS (29)

vasan | 13 years ago | Reply sudhir: You are wrong; Two wrongs do not make a wrong a right. Besides the killers you have mentioned are all known terrorists and are under drone attacks, Pak army attacks etc. Neither Pak govt nor pakistanis are claiming diplomatic protection or Presidential pardon for the terrorist mob. RD has to be prosecuted. That is it. IF there are secrets like whether he was a spy., whether the deceased were ISI operators etc , let the truth come out. I do not understand one thing; Many organs of Pak govt are giving contradictory opinions about the diplomatic status of RD. Why cant Pak govt accept the status and demand the waiver of the status from US and then prosecute him. Alternatively they must revoke the status. They must not release RD till one way or other he is prosecuted. May be you sentence him and let him serve his sentence in his home country, as a compromise

haroon | 13 years ago | Reply @sudhir: all those attacks are funded by India through taliban using 12 to 16 years kids. your comparison has nothing to do with davis case.

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MAD | 13 years ago | Reply Go Aussie Go

Ali shahab | 13 years ago | Reply Its a sad days for all australian murdering rapist slash diplomats

Midfield Dynamo | 13 years ago | Reply Is this what we are looking forward to, a revolution Tunisian or Egyptian style raised to the nth degree, because we are Pakistanis and thus we want to excel in whatever we do, will our hate ever be doused through bloodshed, will we ever be able to disentangle ourselves from this web of conspiracy theories, will we ever stop blaming others for our own inefficiencies, will we ever learn to respect the policies and efforts of our founding fathers, will we ever be part of the comity of nations as contributers and not suckers. We can only pray for miracles, it seems highly unlikely though.

Subair.M | 13 years ago | Reply @ sudhir : Can you Indians stop trashing our newspapers with all the garbage posts? We dont care for your Indian newspapers either.

David Salmon | 13 years ago | Reply @IZ: I suggest it is written with the provocatory implication that the Australian government had taken notice of the Davis affair, but the facts actually stated seem accurate enough. imho, for what it's worth, Davis is being made a scapegoat for larger issues between Pakistanis and the US. The very real evidence of lawful self-defence is being brushed aside, along with his diplomatic-level credentials. Perhaps it is time we all re-examined the reasons for this relationship, and the reasons for this conflict. I think one may legitimately question Pakistan's commitment to democracy and to law when it sponsors and protects groups like the Haqqanis and the LeT, and its media and mullahs whip up controversy and murder against minorities. One does begin to wonder whether we are not working at cross-purposes on some fundamental issues.

IZ | 13 years ago | Reply @KP - thanks for the link. Upon reading this article I immediately felt that it seemed wildly innaccurate. No govt would say some of these things and there had to be a creative "journalist" at work.

saad hafeez | 13 years ago | Reply only god knows what will happen if the govt does let davis go. the people will not be happy and the govt will definitely face a hostile public.

KP | 13 years ago | Reply @Patriot Pakistani: It is a shame that Pakistani press is making up these stories .... look at how this statement has been attributed to Sohail but is made to look like it has as being issued by Australian Government. Here is the link to the full Travel Advice from Australian Government .... http://www.smartraveller.gov.au/zw-cgi/view/Advice/Pakistan . You decide for yourself if this is a lie or not.

Hassan | 13 years ago | Reply @sudhir: look Mr the police report is out the boys did not had finger prints on the pistols besides that their back was facing the American murderer.. and that's the official forensic report...seems like you work for the dirty americans Shame on you! twisting facts for a killers release

syed kashif Hassnain rizvi | 13 years ago | Reply Pakistani politisions are beggers in front of USA n they will not give punish to davis see the latest news Pakistan will free him very soon. they r not as strong as Iran president ahmadi cause Iran never took money from USA n iran hanged one USA citizen in IRAN this is called brave nation n brave president...

Ahad Siddiqui | 13 years ago | Reply US Drone Strike Statistics in Pakistan Year Number of Drone Strikes Number Killed (Min) Number Killed (Max) 2004 1 4 5 2005 2 6 7 2006 2 23 23 2007 4 56 77 2008 33 273 313 2009 53 368 724 2010 118 607 993 2011 9 37 47 Total 222 1,374 2,189 Opinion Research Business (ORB) poll conducted August 12–19, 2007 estimated 1,033,000 violent deaths due to the Iraq War. The range given was 946,000 to 1,120,000 deaths. According to Marc W. Herold's extensive database, in Afghanistan between 3,100 and 3,600 civilians were directly killed by US Operation Enduring Freedom bombing and Special Forces attacks between October 7, 2001 and June 3, 2003. In December 2007, The Elman Peace and Human Rights Organization said it had verified that in Somalia 6,500 civilian deaths, 8,516 people wounded, and 1.5 million displaced from homes in Mogadishu alone during the year 2007. I am sure all these people were also killed in self-defence or for the sake of peace in the world by the US army.

Munnabhai | 13 years ago | Reply As the situation is fast heading for a major social upheaval, I pray for my Pakistani brothers belonging to the silent majority. Let God be with them always.

hina@london | 13 years ago | Reply Mr Sudhir when you are shot at the back and the magazine of the guns of the victims is intact then that means the alleged murderer was not under threat, it's simple:( Moreover the country has witnessed deaths of not just the American but Pakistanis as well!

Zee | 13 years ago | Reply @sudhir..yeah right besides only if India found time slaughtering innocent muslims in India and Kashmir and cowardly funding Baluchistan seperatist, would they find time to look for US diplomats..

Syed | 13 years ago | Reply @sudhir: you are trying to make a plot of series of events... dnt make wrong relationships...all those people who were killed have not done any murder.. But Mr. Davis who is a consultant in embassy does nt hold any immunity.. he dnt have licence to kill... so he has to face the music...

Hamza Malik | 13 years ago | Reply Wow, the Australians acknowledge they won't be able to free their citizens from the prison if they're caught doing unthinkable stuff. Shivers running down their spines after what the government did to Raymond Davis I think.

MAD | 13 years ago | Reply @Patriot Pakistani: In case of crimes like murder or rape citizens of any country who are not diplomats cannot be extracted from prison without following due process. the role of the consulate is limitred to ensuring that their sitizens are not tortured, starved or treated improperly in prison and maybe to arrange for legal representation. other than that nothing goes. I wonder why the americans are delaying the issue. a million dollars to each family should be enough. everything has a price even blood. @sudhir: that is not the issue. Raymond Davis was not a diplomat until two days after the killings. it is unclear as to whether Raymond Davis is even his real name. If diplomatic immunity does not apply than he would have to go through due process. even now if the consulate were to guarantee that Raymond Davis will not be flown out of the country he will probably be released on bail easily. the governmnety is ldaying the inevitable and in process ensuring that when Davis is eventually released the public reaction will be massive and there is a good chance that it could take the government down. teh Americans too have not handled it smartly. the three families will probably be willing to forgive and forget in exchange for money, green cards etc.

ayaz | 13 years ago | Reply so the Australian Government even pointed that revolution is coming to Pakistan sooner than later but our government turned their blind eyes and treat public like animals... revolution has to come...come on Pakistan, there is no place left to go but up....

Amer | 13 years ago | Reply Who cares if the Aussie are going out now! There will be mass protests if the govt releases Davis and they might be preparing themselves for that... @sudhir: I read this exact comment of yours before on these page. You must have this propoganda saved somewhere and want to paste it whereever there is some anti-Pakistan sentiment.

SK | 13 years ago | Reply US arms twisting tactics at work!!

Zee | 13 years ago | Reply no wonder the genrations of convicts of British and USA have spoken up...

sudhir | 13 years ago | Reply Two Americans; in 2002 a US diplomat and her daughter were killed by a terrorist attack on a church in Islamabad; the US consulate in Karachi was attacked in 2002 and 2006, leaving 16 dead, including two Americans; in 2003, the US embassy in Islamabad was attacked, two people were killed; in 2008, a restaurant in Islamabad was bombed, killing four US diplomats; in 2008, the US Principal Officer in Peshawar was attacked; in 2008, the Marriot Hotel was bombed and two foreigners were killed; an aid worker was killed in Peshawar in 2008 and the US Consulate was attacked, leaving 8 dead. In addition, Iranian diplomats have been killed or kidnapped by sectarian terrorists since 1990, UN and Chinese workers have been kidnapped and the Sri Lankan cricket team was attacked in 2009, apart from the 17 French Naval technicians who were killed in Karachi in 2003. And so on. Under the circumstances, Mr Davis had every right to fear he might be kidnapped or killed by the two gunmen.

Pakistan | 13 years ago | Reply " The US has been pressurising Pakistan to release Davis as he had diplomatic immunity and shot at the two men in self-defence." What you're trying to express @ ET??

Junaid | 13 years ago | Reply @shiraz: its either how you say or they want to pressurize pakistani govt in submission. lets see what happens.

Shiraz | 13 years ago | Reply It seems Pakistan Government going to set Raymond Davis free resulting Mass Public protest thats why Ausies are asking their citizen to leave Pakistan as soon as possible. Duh~

Patriot Pakistani | 13 years ago | Reply "The department warned Australian citizens in Pakistan that in case of a crime like murder or rape, they would not be able to get their citizens or diplomats out of prison, reports Sohail." It seems that diplomats are free to break the laws & they would be safely pulled up by their countries! Truly, double standards maintained by so called big nations p'rotecting human rights on earth'-------shame on you!!

Glad | 13 years ago | Reply It's good to hear that Pakistan isn't giving in to the US government that easily. However, we all know that this government will release Davis in the coming days.

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