US disappointed over Pak Govt’s failure to certify Davis’ diplomatic immunity status
By ANIFriday, February 18, 2011
ISLAMABAD - The United States is disappointed that the Pakistan Government did not certify during the court hearing in Lahore that double murder-accused American official Raymond Davis possessed diplomatic immunity, US Ambassador to Islamabad Cameron Munter has said.
In his reaction to Thursday’s court hearings in Lahore, Munter added that the US “has made its position on this case clear.”
Earlier this week, US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John F. Kerry had visited the country to try to “help tone down the rhetoric and reaffirm the US partnership with Pakistan,” in the wake of the Davis detention issue.
Echoing Kerry’s regret over the killings by Davis, Munter said: “I would also like to convey to the people of Pakistan our deepest sorrow for the loss of life that occurred in the tragic incident in Lahore. We all feel the pain and the anguish of families who have lost [their] loved ones.”
The US envoy said that Kerry’s visit to Pakistan “manifested our intention to work with the Government of Pakistan to resolve this issue.”
“As the Senator said during his visit, we want to work together as two countries that have a common interest in the same goal and find a path forward,” he added.
However, Pakistan’s Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Firdaus Ashiq Awan said during a press briefing that Pakistani leaders had told Kerry that only the court would decide Davis’ fate.
President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and other leaders had told the US Senator that “Pakistan does not interfere in other countries’ judicial matters”, and likewise it did not want any other country to meddle in the affairs of its judiciary, she added. (ANI)
