The Lahore High Court (LHC) is scheduled to resume hearing on diplomatic immunity of Raymond Davis, the US official charged with killing two persons on a busy street of Lahore, from Monday (March 14) but the ministry of foreign affairs has yet to reach any decision with respect to the status of Davis' immunity, it was learnt.
Whether or not the process will be completed by March 14 is not known, well informed said, adding that the determination of diplomatic immunity involves a tedious process. The issue is complicated since every country has different modus operandi to deal with diplomatic immunity. The Raymond Davis issue is to be determined in view of national, international and American laws, the sources explained.
Raymond Davis, a suspected CIA operative, was arrested in Lahore on January 27 after he shot and killed two motorcyclists. Since his arrest, the US is clamouring for his immediate release under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961.
In response to US demand, Pakistan government had said that the matter would be decided by the courts. Davis is facing a total of five cases: four at the LHC and one criminal case under trial by a Sessions Judge. The LHC had earlier postponed the hearing for March 14 at the government's request to ostensibly complete its homework on the status of Davis' diplomatic immunity. Similarly, the Sessions Judge had adjourned the hearing for March 16, two days after the immunity hearing.
The foreign ministry has given its preliminary comments to the LHC regarding the cases against Raymond Davis and has also responded to queries of the sessions court. Earlier on Thursday, while addressing the weekly press briefing, Foreign Office Spokesperson Tehmina Janjua had stated that Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Interior and Law and Justice were co-ordinating on the issue. Since Davis issue has brought the allies in war against terror at a cross roads, the spokesperson stated that "our ties with US were resilient enough to sort out the issue bilaterally".
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