Pak in ‘damned if you do and damned if you don’t’ dilemma over Davis: Editorial

ISLAMABAD - The Pakistan government would face a ‘public backlash’ if they decide to enter in any agreement with the United States over the Raymond Davis standoff, but the long-term repercussions of any other course could be much, much worse, according to an editorial in a Pakistani newspaper.

Davis has confessed to shooting dead two Pakistani citizens in Lahore last month, allegedly in self-defence.

Pakistani authorities have charged Davis with murder, but the Obama administration has insisted that he is an “administrative and technical official” attached to its Lahore consulate and has diplomatic immunity.

Pakistan, on the other hand, has made it clear that Davis’ case will be decided by the judiciary, and applicability of international and national laws will be taken into account.

“The common man is incensed that Davis could very well be allowed to get off scot-free after killing two Pakistani citizens. The public backlash may be high pitched but, so far, it seems as if it might not attain the sound and fury of the blasphemy issue that has recently fizzled out,” the editorial in Daily Times said.

“The US backlash on the other hand, may be a very real breakdown of our economic system without their funding.”

“In such a ‘damned if you do and damned if you don’t’ scenario, there seems just one option left for the hapless Pakistan government: to take Senator John Kerry up on his offer of handing Davis over after which he will be subject to criminal investigations in the US,” it added. (ANI)