Pakistan not to release US official

The Pakistani government has announced that it does not intend to hand over an American national, who is charged with the killing of two citizens in Lahore, to the US.

“It is wrong to say that at this stage the government has decided to send Davis to the US. The government will not sit quiet on the shooting of our nationals,” presidential spokesman, Farhatullah Babar, said in a statement on Sunday.

“The law will take its own course and investigations are still going on. Legal process will be observed and respected,” he added.

The US embassy in Islamabad claimed the accused, identified as Raymond Davis, is a staff member of Consulate General in Lahore and should be granted diplomatic immunity and therefore be released.

However, Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper reported on Sunday that Davis’s passport shows he is in Pakistan on a business visa, not a diplomatic one and his real name is Raymond Alan Davis.

Pakistan’s Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Interior Senator Talha Mehmood has urged the government to take a tough stance on the issue to set an example for all the perpetrators.

“The government has to take a strong stand to give exemplary punishment to the US commando for killing innocent people,” Mehmood said.

Davis shot dead two men riding on a motorcycle on Thursday in what he claimed was self-defense during an attempted robbery.

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

Pakistani media say he is an agent for the notorious security firm Blackwater.

Pakistanis took to the streets across the country on Friday to protest the killing of civilians by the US national.