ISLAMABAD — Pakistani authorities on Monday balked at ruling whether CIA contractor Raymond Davis is immune from prosecution in a double-murder case and instead put the matter in the hands of a Lahore trial court, a decision that will probably prolong the ongoing diplomatic crisis between the U.S. and Pakistan, a key ally in the war on terrorism.
The Lahore High Court had earlier ordered the federal government to clearly state on Monday its position on whether Davis, a 36-year-old American, has diplomatic immunity that would shield him from being tried for shooting to death two Pakistani motorcyclists who he says were trying to rob him in Lahore Jan. 27. The U.S. insists Davis has that immunity and should be immediately released from a Pakistani jail.
However, the government’s Foreign Ministry told Lahore Chief Justice Ijaz Chaudhry that the question of Davis’ immunity needs to be decided by the trial court handling the murder case. Without a clear position from the federal government, the high court did not issue its own ruling and instead sent the matter to the trial court.
Monday’s developments left unresolved a case that has severely strained relations between the United States and Pakistan, an ally that Washington relies on heavily in the battle against Taliban and al-Qaeda militants in the country’s northwest, as well as in efforts to bring an end to the nine-year conflict against insurgents in Afghanistan.
A Lahore trial-court hearing the Davis murder case will convene again Wednesday.
