LAHORE, Pakistan â The wife of a Pakistani man shot and killed by a U.S. official committed suicide by eating rat poison Sunday, explaining before she died that she was driven to act by fears the American would be freed without trial, a doctor said. The U.S. has demanded Pakistani authorities release the American, saying he shot and killed two armed men in self-defense when they attempted to rob him as he drove his car in the eastern city of Lahore. He was arrested on Jan. 27, and the U.S. has said he has diplomatic immunity and is being illegally detained. The shootings have stoked anti-American sentiment in Pakistan, feelings that could be further inflamed by Shumaila Kanwal's suicide. She died several hours after being rushed to a hospital, said Ali Naqi, the doctor in Faisalabad city who treated her. "I do not expect any justice from this government," said Kanwal in a statement recorded by the doctor before she died. "That is why I want to kill myself." Kanwal also spoke to reporters after arriving at the hospital, saying "I want blood for blood." "The way my husband was shot, his killer should be shot in the same fashion," she said. Relatives of the men who were allegedly shot by Davis have participated in several protests in Lahore, including one Thursday outside the U.S. consulate where demonstrators shouted "Hang the American killer!" http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110206/ap_on_re_as/as_pakistan
Americans aren't suppose to defend themselves if they're getting attacked. All Muslims are peaceful. Yea right.
The man has diplomatic immunity. The pakistanis are ignoring that fact and holding him in some local jail. It doesn't matter what he did, if he has immunity they cannot even hold him, much less charge him. Maybe instead of trying to pull the rug out from under a US ally of 30 years, our goverment should be addressing this intolerable situation. The media has been downplaying this in an effort to spare the administeation embarrassment, but this is not all that different from the Iranian hostage crisis. If they don't get this guy released immediately, every other diplomat is in danger.
US threatens to cut Pakistan aid over shooting WASHINGTON (AFP) â US lawmakers threatened to cut aid to Pakistan unless it freed an American detained in a shadowy murder case, as Washington intensified pressure on its uneasy war partner. The United States has already warned that high-level dialogue would be at risk unless Pakistan releases US diplomatic official Raymond Davis, who said he was acting in self-defense when he shot dead two men in Lahore last month. Congress in 2009 approved a five-year, $7.5-billion aid package meant to build schools, infrastructure and democratic institutions as Pakistan ended a decade of military rule. "It's entirely possible that a member of Congress would come down and offer an amendment to cut funding for Pakistan based on their detaining Mr. Davis," Kline said. http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110209/ts_afp/uspakistanunrestshootingdiplomacy
So she killed herself because of injustice, but prematurely judged the defendant before he had any opportunity to put his case in a court of law? Pure hypocrisy.
The Washington Post reported yesterday that the two men who were shot were not in fact would-be robbers but Pakistani security agents assigned to tail the diplomat. The story now is that they were trying to scare him off from doing something they regarded as "over the line", but noone is saying what it was. The case has become a political football in Pakistan and even within the government. The province where he is being held is under the control of an opposition party, and they are clearly using the case to embarrass the ruling party. They are playing a dangerous game. If this guy ends up dead or even injured, there would be considerable sentiment to pull the highly unpopular aid package.