Quote:'US embassy official Blackwater agent'
Fri Jan 28, 2011 11:15AM
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People look at the blood stains in a Lahore street after the American cosular killed two Pakistanis on January 27, 2011.
Pakistani media say the US embassy official charged with the murder of two Pakistani citizens is an agent for the notorious security firm, Blackwater.


The US official identified by police as Raymond Davis shot dead two men riding on a motorcycle in Lahore on Thursday in what he claimed was self-defense during an attempted robbery.

A third Pakistani was run over and killed in the incident after being hit by a US consulate vehicle rushing to the scene to the American's aid.

The US embassy in Islamabad has confirmed the man involved was a consular official and says it is carrying out an investigation.

Trying to avoid an anti-American reaction, US State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said Thursday that Washington will fully cooperate with Pakistani authorities and will explain about the incident to the Pakistani people.

The issue of American diplomats carrying weapons inside Pakistan was a hot-button subject last year among certain politicians and sections of the media purportedly worried about the country's sovereignty.

Many Pakistanis regard the United States with suspicion or outright enmity because of its occupation of neighboring Afghanistan
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Quote:US Consulate car number plate fake: Police

By AGENCIES
Published: Jan 28, 2011 23:12 Updated: Jan 28, 2011 23:12
LAHORE: The number plate of the US Consulate vehicle that knocked down and killed a motorcyclist as it sped to help an American employee who had shot dead two youths in Lahore has been found to be fake, a probe has revealed.
The US Consulate vehicle that killed motorcyclist Abdur Rehman carried a fake number plate, sources told Geo News Friday. Investigations have revealed that the car number was actually registered in the name of Sufi Munawwar Hussain, a resident of Sahiwal district in Punjab province.
David Raymond, an employee of the US Consulate in Lahore, shot dead two youths, while a third was crushed by the driver of the vehicle who was called by him for help Thursday.
Raymond told the police that the two armed motorcyclists tried to rob him. He chased them and opened fire at them near Chowk Qartaba, Daily Times reported.
One of the motorcyclists died on the spot while the other died in a hospital.
After shooting the duo, Raymond called for help and a US Consulate vehicle rushed to assist him. The media report said that violating one-way traffic law, the driver hit a motorcyclist, who died on the spot. The vehicle then sped away.
One of the shooting victims has been identified as Faizan. A police source said that Faizan's brother was murdered some time ago after which he started carrying a weapon for self-defense.
Faizan's distraught relatives said he had never been involved in any crime and dismissed the American's story as a pack of lies.
Police registered a case against Raymond late Thursday, while a case was registered against unidentified people at the behest of Rehman's brother Ijaz.
A top prosecutor said Friday Pakistan will pursue murder charges against the US consular employee.
The government, already frequently criticized for being subservient to the United States, will likely come under domestic pressure to be tough on the American. There were several small protests around the country after midday prayers, calling for the American to be punished.
Many Pakistanis regard the US with suspicion or enmity because of its occupation of neighboring Afghanistan and regular missile attacks against militant targets in Pakistan's northwest. The government condemns those attacks, but is widely believed to agree to them privately, further angering its critics.
In a sign of the political sensitivities of the case, Interior Minister Rehman Malik was asked by a lawmaker in Parliament whether he was trying to set the American free.
"I will never abet a criminal," replied Malik.
Police officer Umar Saeed said the American, who has not been named by American authorities, had told officers he had withdrawn money from an ATM shortly before the incident, raising the possibility the two men were following him.
Rana Bakhtiar, deputy prosecutor general for Punjab, said the state would pursue murder charges.
"He has killed two men. A case is registered against him on murder charges," he said.
Bakhtiar spoke after the American appeared in a court in Lahore where judges ordered him to remain in police custody for six days.
The US Embassy has not said what position the man held at the consulate in Lahore or whether he qualifies for diplomatic immunity.
Under widely accepted international conventions, diplomats are generally free from prosecution, but the level of immunity varies as to what job they do and it's not automatically granted. A temporary consultant working at a mission, for example, may not be protected at all.
In a two-sentence statement, the US Embassy confirmed that a consulate staffer "was involved in an incident yesterday that regrettably resulted in the loss of life." The US was working with Pakistanis to "determine the facts and work toward a resolution," it said.
In the capital, Islamabad, and the city of Karachi, several dozen people burned US flags and chanted slogans.
"Hang the US spy, the killer of three Pakistanis," read one placard. The issue of American diplomats or their security details carrying weapons inside Pakistan was a hot-button subject last year among certain politicians and sections of the media purportedly worried about the country's sovereignty. They were frequently presented as a threat to ordinary Pakistanis.
"'American Rambo' goes berserk in Lahore,'" read the headline in The Nation, a right-wing newspaper that often publishes anti-US conspiracy theories.http://arabnews.com/world/article245233.ece