US embassy demands release of arrested diplomat in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD - The US embassy in Islamabad has said Pakistani security officials have kept their diplomat, Raymond Davis, in illegal custody and demanded his release without any delay, media reports said Saturday.

According to a statement released by the embassy, Raymond Davis is part of the diplomatic staff and thus enjoys diplomatic immunity.

“We demand that he should be released immediately from what, at present, is an illegal confinement under the rules,” Samaa TV quoted the statement as saying.

Davis was taken into custody Thursday for allegedly shooting two people to death in Lahore, capital of Pakistan’s Punjab province, while another embassy vehicle travelling with him at that time allegedly crushed a passerby to death while trying to flee the crime scene.

The diplomat was arrested by police, and an automatic weapon was recovered from his possession. He has been remanded to police custody for eight days.

However, the US consulate in Lahore has refused to hand over the second vehicle and the driver who caused the accident.

Davis is reportedly an under-cover US agent on duty with the country’s diplomatic staff in Pakistan. He had arrived in Pakistan in 2009 on a visit visa and got it extended for two years.

Repeated attempts by the media and police to contact the embassy for his exact designation have not been entertained.

He has claimed in his appearance before the court that he opened fire in self-defence.

“I went to an ATM machine and was being followed by two people, and I had to shoot them for my safety,” he said.

Meanwhile, two police complaints have been filed against the deceased, alleging that they were mobile phone snatchers.

Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan said police and the provincial government would not succumb to any pressure. Davis would be tried under relevant laws of the land, he said, adding that even self-defence has certain conditions which need to be observed.