Davis not entitled to diplomatic protection: Salman

Amid a fresh call for release of Raymond Davis, the US national charged with killing two in Lahore last month, by the US Consul General in Lahore, Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir Saturday made it clear that Davis was not entitled to diplomatic protection saying a person involved in criminal activity should not seek immunity.
Raymond Davis had killed two in Lahore on January 27 and was in detention since then. However, the US government had at number of occasions demanded the government his release terming Davis detention as illegal under Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961. After the incident strained relations between allies in war against terror had touched its lowest as suggested by the media reports in both the countries.
Earlier in the day, Carmela Conroy, US Consul General in Lahore issued a statement urging Pakistan to honour the Vienna convention while pleading Davis case that he acted in self defence while saying 'we regret that authorities did not consider these eyewitness accounts and physical evidence when they stated that this was not a case of self-defence'. "We respect the law and Pakistan's sovereignty, and expect all representatives of our government to respect the laws of our host nation," the statement added.
Later in the evening, Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir while briefing the media at Foreign Office stated in clear terms that the Raymond Davis issue would be decided by the Lahore High Court (LHC). Earlier, both the President Asif Ali Zardari and the Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had also told the visiting US officials that the matter was sub judice and would be decided by the court.
The Foreign Secretary expressed the confidence that nothing would be said or done on Lahore issue that would be detrimental to Pakistan-US relationship. Both Islamabad and Washington are clear that it would be extremely counter productive if one incident was allowed to destroy sixty years relationship, he added.
He also shunned the impression that the government was all set for granting immunity by contradicting media reports that the Presidency had formally or informally directed the Foreign Office to make any changes in the records or certifications in respect of Raymond Davis. When asked about the rescheduling of trilateral meeting between Pakistan, Afghanistan and United States had nothing to do with the Lahore incident.
While briefing about the recent meeting of Pak-Indian Foreign Secretaries in Thimpu, Salman Bashir said that understanding between Pakistan and India resume the dialogue process as a breakthrough with implications not only for the two countries but also for the region and beyond. He said the two countries have agreed to resume full spectrum dialogue and discuss all issue including Jammu and Kashmir. The process would start unfolding next month through June, he added. He said that Pakistan wants resolution of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the aspirations of the Kashmiri people as stipulated in relevant UN resolutions.