Raymond Davis

[Tronic]

Detained US official met Taliban-linked extremists

A US official, detained in Pakistan after shooting dead two men, had made contact with Taliban-linked extremists in the country's lawless, tribal region, according to details of phone records leaked by the police.

Sources close to the investigation said Raymond Davis, 36, had made a series of telephone calls to South Waziristan, a tribal area along the border with Afghanistan synonymous with militant activity.
The mystery surrounding Davis has deepened since he was arrested in Lahore two weeks ago. He has told police officers he shot dead two men in self defence.
The US insists he is a diplomat based at the embassy in Islamabad and should be granted immunity.
However, security sources have leaked a series of details suggesting that he may have had a clandestine role.
"His phone records clearly show he was in contact with Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, for what reason we can only speculate," said a police officer, referring to a terrorist group with close links to the Pakistani Taliban.

Hamid Gul, a former head of Pakistan's spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence directorate, said the phone calls suggested he was a secret agent.
"This is a classic intelligence technique – to get inside the head of the enemy," he said.
Davis, who is due to appear in court on Friday, is a former special forces soldier who left the US army in 2003 after 10 years of service, according to Pentagon records.
Mobile phone footage obtained by the Dunya TV channel shows him pleading for the return of his passport shortly after his arrest.
"I need to tell the embassy where I am at," he said, during a confused interrogation as police officers interrupt and laugh in the background.
He went on to tell them that he was working at the US consulate in Lahore "I just work as a consultant there, with the [Regional Affairs Office]," he said.
His arrest is deeply embarrassing to the governments of both Pakistan and the US, which has suspended some high-level talks in order to increase pressure on Islamabad.

Detained US official met Taliban-linked extremists - Telegraph

This case is getting quite murky. It is now also clear that the two men he killed were also armed.

[troung]

If they don't let him go we should sanction them and expel their people from America.

They admit the robber had a loaded gun but claim it was not chambered (would make them pretty unique to require a pointed and loaded firearm to have the round chambered to defend oneself) thus making it murder. Flood aid well spent.
=========
Pakistani police: US man committed 'murder'
By BABAR DOGAR, Associated Press Babar Dogar, Associated Press 1 hr 15 mins ago

LAHORE, Pakistan – Investigators have determined that an American who shot dead two Pakistanis was not acting in self-defense and police will recommend he face murder charges, a Pakistani police official said Friday in a case that has roiled relations between the counterterrorism allies.

The U.S. says the American, 36-year-old Raymond Allen Davis, shot the Pakistanis on Jan. 27 because they were trying to rob him in the eastern city of Lahore. Washington insists his detention is illegal under international agreements covering diplomats because he was a U.S. Embassy staffer, and American officials have begun curbing diplomatic contacts and threatening to cut off billions in aid to Pakistan if he is not freed.

Pakistani leaders — loathe to incur a backlash in a public already rife with anti-U.S. sentiment — have for days avoided making definitive statements on Davis' legal status, instead saying the issue is up to the courts. The fact that rival political parties control the federal government and the government of Punjab province, where any trial would be held, is further complicating the Pakistani response.

Hours after a judge ordered that Davis be held for 14 more days and told the government to determine whether he has diplomatic immunity, Lahore police chief Aslam Tareen stoked more fury by declaring that a police probe determined Davis was not defending himself.

"It was an intentional and cold blooded murder," Tareen told a news conference.

The police chief said Davis told interrogators that one of the Pakistani men had pointed his pistol at him.

However, Tareen said the slain man's pistol had been examined and officers found that all the bullets were in the magazine and no bullet was found in the chamber. Police also determined that the American shot and killed the second Pakistani as he tried to flee, hitting him in the back, Tareen said.

Tareen's remarks left open the possibility that the man with the empty pistol had still pointed the gun at the American. The police chief said the issue of diplomatic immunity was a government matter but that the police have sent a preliminary charge sheet recommending Davis face a murder trial.

American officials did not immediately respond to repeated requests for comment Friday. However, the judge's agreement with a defense motion that the government must clarify whether Davis has immunity could give the U.S. representatives some room to maneuver with their Pakistani counterparts.

Davis is to be held in a jail in the Kot Lakhpat area of Lahore, said Abdus Samad, a government prosecutor in the case who briefed reporters after the Friday court session, which was closed to media. His next court appearance is set for Feb. 25. Samad said that Judge Anik Anwar also agreed to get the government's response on a defense request that any trial in the case be held out of public view.

Pakistani leaders may not want to risk anger within the population if they let Davis go, but the cash-strapped country relies on billions in aid from the U.S., which needs its cooperation to help end the war in Afghanistan.

Exactly what sort of work Davis does for the U.S. is a major issue because it could affect Pakistani determinations about his diplomatic immunity.

U.S. officials in Islamabad will say only that he was an American Embassy employee who was considered part of the "administrative and technical staff." That designation gives him blanket immunity, the U.S. says.

There has also been controversy in Pakistan over the fact that Davis was armed. A senior U.S. official has told The Associated Press that Davis was authorized by the United States to carry a weapon, but that it was a "gray area" whether Pakistani law permitted him to do so.

Long before Davis emerged on the public consciousness, conspiracy theories about armed American mercenaries roaming the country were common among the population and sections of the media here.

According to records from the Pentagon, the 36-year-old Davis is a former Special Forces soldier who left the army in August 2003 after 10 years of service. A Virginia native, he served with infantry divisions prior to joining the 3rd Special Forces Group in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

In 1994, he was part of the U.N. peacekeeping force in Macedonia. His record includes several awards and medals, including for good conduct.

Public records also show Davis runs a company with his wife registered in Las Vegas called Hyperion Protective Services, though it was not immediately clear whether the company has had many contracts with the U.S. government.

The U.S. Embassy says he has a diplomatic passport and a visa valid through June 2012. It also said in a recent statement that the U.S. had notified the Pakistani government of Davis' assignment more than a year ago.

After the shootings in Lahore on Jan. 27, Davis called for backup. The American car rushing to the scene hit a third Pakistani, a bystander, who later died. The U.S. has said nothing about the Americans involved in that third death, though Pakistani police have said they want to question them as well.

(This version CORRECTS that American may face murder charges, not one murder charge.)
Copyright © 2011 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserv

[visioninthedark]

If they don't let him go we should sanction them and expel their people from America.

Hey man ..... it's been ages .... hope all good at your end.

Now, that's a bit of a drastic statement .... isn't it?

No one is disputing he did indeed shoot dead two men and then a bystander on the scene was killed when a seperate US Embassy car run him over. So that's three dead people ....

This one is for the courts .... if indeed it's self defence .... he'll be freed .... why worry? If it's something else, he should be punished.

[dave lukins]

I assume that the Pakistani Ambassador in the USA has been 'briefed' about Mr Davis and Article 29. The US should also demand his immediate release and for Pakistan to follow International Agreements.

[notorious_eagle]

Davis had crucial Pak defence pics

Islamabad, Feb. 9: Prosecutors have recommended registering an espionage case against US official , Mr Raymond Davis, who shot dead two Pakistanis in Lahore, after police retrieved from his camera photographs of some sensitive areas and defence installations, including those of army bunkers at the eastern border with India.
Photos of the strategic Balahisar Fort, the headquarters of the paramilitary Frontier Corps in Peshawar and of Pakistan Army’s bunkers at the eastern border with India were found in the camera, a source was quoted as saying.
A digital camera, a pistol and a phone tracker were recovered from Mr Davis after his arrest.
Meanwhile, stepping up pressure on Pakistan, the US lawmakers have threatened to cut massive aid to the country unless it frees the diplomat. The tough message that the US aid may be in jeopardy was delivered to the Prime
Minister, Mr Yousaf Raza Gilani, by three top Congressmen.

Davis had crucial Pak defence pics | Deccan Chronicle | 2011-02-10

Its about time the US comes out clean regarding what exactly his job was because so far they still haven't provided a clear answer. I can now understand why Pakistani officials are reluctant in issuing visas to Americans, after all if their embassy workers are going around the country taking pictures of sensitive defence installations, that is a a serious threat to the State of Pakistan.

[notorious_eagle]

US man Raymond Davis shot Pakistan pair 'in cold blood'

A Pakistani police chief has said a US citizen in custody over the deaths of two men in Lahore last month was guilty of "cold-blooded murder".

Lahore city police chief Aslam Tareen told a news conference that one of the men was killed while running away.

He spoke after Raymond Davis was remanded for another 14 days following an appearance in a Lahore court.

Mr Davis, 36, has admitted he shot the men, but says he acted in self-defence because they were trying to rob him.

The court has ordered the Pakistani government to clarify US embassy claims that Mr Davis has diplomatic immunity.

He is charged on two counts - murder and possession of illegal weapons.

'Tremendous pressure'
Mr Tareen told a news conference: "The police investigation and forensic report show it was not self-defence.

"His plea has been rejected by police investigators. He gave no chance to them to survive. Mr Tareen also said that forensic evidence did not support Mr Davis's claim that one of the motorbike riders had approached his car window, cocked his gun and pointed it at him.

No fingerprints had been uncovered on the triggers of the pistols found on the bodies of the two men, he said.

And tests had shown that the bullets remained in the magazine of the men's gun, not the chamber.

"It was cold-blooded murder," said Mr Tareen. "Eyewitnesses have told police that he directly shot at them and he kept shooting even when one was running away. It was an intentional murder."

Police officials have previously said that the two men were street robbers, although conspiracy theorists have suggested that the pair were members of Pakistani intelligence.

Mr Davis was taken to court very early on Friday to avoid the media and possible protests, the BBC's M Ilyas Khan in Islamabad says.

The American has reportedly been sent to the high-security Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore. His next hearing is scheduled for 25 February.

He is said to have told police that he acted in self-defence during the incident on 27 January because the motorcycle rider and his pillion passenger tried to hijack his vehicle at gunpoint.

As his colleagues came to his aid, their vehicle ran over and killed a third person.

Mr Tareen said police had written five times to the US consulate in Lahore, requesting access to the consulate vehicle involved in that collision.

It is not clear what Mr Davis's role in Lahore was - American officials in the capital Islamabad have said only that he was an US embassy employee who was part of the "administrative and technical staff".

The Associated Press news agency says Pentagon records show that Mr Davis is a former Special Forces soldier who left the army in 2003 after 10 years of service.

BBC correspondents say the case is threatening to derail relations between the US and Pakistan, a crucial ally in the fight against militants.

Islamabad is under tremendous pressure at home, with demands that Mr Davis must stand trial in Pakistan and not be handed over to the US government.

Earlier this month, the Lahore High Court barred officials from freeing Mr Davis and ordered them to place his name on the "exit control list" to stop him leaving Pakistan.

Last weekend tensions rose further when the widow of one of the men shot dead by Mr Davis killed herself by taking poison.

In her dying statement, she said she feared the American would be released without trial, police and doctors said.

BBC News - US man Raymond Davis shot Pakistan pair 'in cold blood'

[troung]

Hey man ..... it's been ages .... hope all good at your end.

Been well and yourself.

This one is for the courts .... if indeed it's self defence .... he'll be freed .... why worry? If it's something else, he should be punished.

Anti-American feelings are being used to rail road him. At best the police are dumb and more likely want to "get an American".

[IND76]

The two men shot dead by Davis is speculated to be from ISI . If true, then Davis seem to be too good for ISI chaps :) .

[Tronic]

The two men shot dead by Davis is speculated to be from ISI . If true, then Davis seem to be too good for ISI chaps :) .

links?

[notorious_eagle]

The two men shot dead by Davis is speculated to be from ISI . If true, then Davis seem to be too good for ISI chaps :) .

Wrong, the ISI has come out and categorically denied that those two men were ISI agents.

Getting back to the topic, its quite clear that he murdered those two men in cold blood and it was not self defence. The court has squashed the Defence's plea of 'Self Defence', there is no evidence to suggest he killed those men in self defence. For embassy workers, there is a chain of stringent security protocols which the workers are supposed to follow when they venture outside. The place where Davis was caught was off limits to the embassy workers and he was alone, this is what is raising eye brows.

[IND76]

Wrong, the ISI has come out and categorically denied that those two men were ISI agents.

Getting back to the topic, its quite clear that he murdered those two men in cold blood and it was not self defence. The court has squashed the Defence's plea of 'Self Defence', there is no evidence to suggest he killed those men in self defence. For embassy workers, there is a chain of stringent security protocols which the workers are supposed to follow when they venture outside. The place where Davis was caught was off limits to the embassy workers and he was alone, this is what is raising eye brows.

No its not clear its cold blood murder. There is no reason why a american embassy official would kill two unknown Pakistani's. As usual Pakistani's are lieing . I'm sure Mr Davis would be set free in few days after some arm twisting by Americans :)

[notorious_eagle]

No its not clear its cold blood murder. There is no reason why a american embassy official would kill two unknown Pakistani's. As usual Pakistani's are lieing . I'm sure Mr Davis would be set free in few days after some arm twisting by Americans :)

It is quite clear that its a cold murder, i suggest you read the article i posted before. The reason why eye brows are being raised is because he had pictures of strategic defence locations and he was carrying unlicensed weapon. Why was he venturing out ALONE in a territory that was off limits to diplomatic staff? I wouldn't be surprised if he is set free, this incompetent Government has already dismissed our FM who refused to bow down and bend the rules to accommodate Davis.

[Tronic]

Police officials have previously said that the two men were street robbers, although conspiracy theorists have suggested that the pair were members of Pakistani intelligence.

Found an article from the Pak Tribune on this, it suggests:

Raymond Davis case: Men killed in Lahore were intelligence operatives, says official

By Kamran Yousaf
Published: February 5, 2011

ISLAMABAD: The government’s reluctance to free Raymond Davis is attributed to the fact that the two killed in the Lahore shooting were believed to be the intelligence operatives.

“Yes, they belonged to the security establishment….they found the activities of the American official detrimental to our national security,” disclosed a security official.

He requested not to be identified since he was not authorised to speak to the media on record.

The official confirmed that the president, the prime minister and the chief of army staff (COAS) had discussed the issue in a meeting last week. The three thought it was advisable to resist the US pressure on the Raymond Davis issue and believed the detained American national should not be released at this stage, he said.

He said the government’s tough stance on the controversy was also its reaction to the attempts by certain elements in Washington to implicate the country’s top spy agency, the ISI, in the November 2008 Mumbai attacks.
“The government is very angry with the decision of an American court to summon top ISI officials in connections with the Mumbai attacks,” the official maintained.

The military spokesman was not available for comments.

The officials in the Foreign Office also confirmed the government’s position on the Raymond Davis issue but said he would eventually be released once the firm assurance from the US that such incidents would not recur.

The government was also con*templating to ask the American government to waive off Ray*mond’s immunity and try him in the US courts, the officials added. A US Embassy official said his government had “no plans yet to agree on such a step”.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 7th, 2011.

Raymond Davis case: Men killed in Lahore were intelligence operatives, says official – The Express Tribune

[notorious_eagle]

Davis’s victims not our workers, says Pakistan’s Intelligence

Read more: Davis

The identity and motives of the two motorbike riders killed in Lahore last month by an American citizen remain a mystery. Anonymous intelligence sources say the dead were not their operatives.

Intelligence officials have denied the earlier news of Raymond Davis’s victims being intelligence workers. They have also reportedly warned the concerned newspaper of legal action on account of publishing the news.

The Experience Tribune had reported in a news post on February 07 2011 that the two motorbike riders shot dead by an American Consulate employee Raymond David, in Lahore (January 27, 2011)were intelligence operatives. The news was based on a call the paper had with a security official who had spoken to the paper on conditions of anonymity. He was also reported saying that Pakistan’s intelligence was angry with the government and the US because a US court had summoned top officials of Pakistan’s leading intelligence body ISI for their alleged role in Mumbai Terror Attacks of November 2008, in India. The news appeared on the paper’s front page.

In today’s paper, however, an intelligence official – who was not named – has rejected the paper’s earlier post and stated that the dead were not their operatives. They regretted the said news post, calling it “speculative reporting”. He also denied any connection between the US court’s summon to ISI officials and Raymond Davis’s incident. He also warned the paper that intelligence reserves the right to take legal action against the paper.

[IND76]

Thanks Tronic. I had links which are not working now and couldnt reply your question.