ISLAMABAD “ Pakistans former foreign minister said Wednesday that legal advisers told him an American detained for fatally shooting two Pakistanis did not qualify for blanket diplomatic immunity as Washington maintains. Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who stepped down earlier this month during a Cabinet shake-up but retains influence, reiterated this stance after meeting with U.S. Sen. John Kerry ” an indication that the American politician may have a rocky time convincing Pakistan to free 36-year-old Raymond Davis.
It also signaled there have been internal divisions within Pakistans government over how to handle a case that has severely strained relations with the United States. The partnership is considered key to ending the war in Afghanistan. The U.S. says Davis is an embassy employee who shot two Pakistanis in self-defense as they tried to rob him Jan. 27, and that his detention is illegal under international agreements covering diplomats. Pakistani leaders ” fearful of stoking more outrage in a public already rife with anti-U.S. sentiment ” have said the matter is up to the courts to decide.
In the southern city of Karachi on Wednesday, dozens of young men protested U.S. efforts to win Davis release. About 50 members of an Islamist political party gathered outside the Karachi press club chanting "Down with America!" They also torched effigies of Obama and Kerry.
A Pakistani federal official told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the government would tell a court later this week that most of its legal experts had decided that Davis is immune from prosecution. Qureshi, however, told a news conference that if he is summoned, he will testify that his advisers informed him Davis may not have full immunity.
"God willing, I will side with the truth," he said. "I will never disappoint the nation." It was not immediately clear whether saying that Davis doesnt qualify for "blanket" immunity means he doesnt qualify at all for protection from prosecution in this particular case. The U.S. Embassy insists that because Davis was part of its "administrative and technical staff" he has blanket immunity.