Raymond Davis release: Top court asked to try civil, military leaders

Petitioner Zafar Ali Shah wants treason proceedings against Punjab CM

ISLAMABAD: A prominent politician and lawyer belonging to the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) has approached the Supreme Court, asking it to initiate treason proceedings against those civilian and military leaders who helped secure the release of CIA contractor Raymond Davis in 2011.

Zafar Ali Shah on Monday filed a constitutional petition under Article 184 (3) of the Constitution, naming the Federation through secretaries of interior, defence, law and justice, foreign affairs as well as the chief secretary Punjab, the inspector-general of police, the chief police officer Lahore, Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif, former president Asif Ali Zardari, former PM Yousaf Raza Gilani, former DG ISI Lt-Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha, the controller-general Military Accounts Rawalpindi, former Pakistani ambassador to the US Hussain Haqqani, Raymond Davis and former US ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter as respondents.



Surprisingly, the applicant requested the apex court to initiate treason proceedings against the Punjab CM under Article 6 of the Constitution.

‘Raymond Allen Davis’ was a contractor employed by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) when he shot two men to death in Lahore on January 27 in 2011. A car coming to rescue Davis killed a third man, Ibadur Rahman, in a hit-and-run while speeding away on the wrong side of the road.

The applicant requested the apex court to direct the authorities concerned to produce complete judicial record of the Raymond Davis case and quash the lower court’s proceedings regarding his acquittal.

He also requested the court to order a thorough probe to identify those who helped him fly from Pakistan and such persons also be disqualified permanently from holding any public office.

Shah urged the court to form a full bench for hearing his petition as it concerned national security and sovereignty. He raised 11 questions in his petition.



Raymond Davis, a foreign terrorist, was allowed to flee from Pakistan under the garb of Muslim laws, which caused a national disgrace, he said, asking the Supreme Court to give exemplary punishment to all those responsible. He also alleged that former DG ISI Shuja Pasha was given job extension after his role in this case.

Terming Davis a professional killer, Shah urged the Supreme Court to direct the federal government to proceed against him under provisions of the Extradition Act of 1972.

Recently, Davis wrote in a book ‘The Contractor’ that Pasha, the then DG ISI, brought all victims’ heirs to negotiate a deal by exerting pressure for accepting ‘blood money’, and they were paid the amount initially from the treasury of military accounts.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 4^th, 2017.