Some self-examination in the aftermath of a lynching: http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/15/pakistan-debates-what-a-lynching-means/?ref=world
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...itician-murdered-outside-his-London-home.html http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/09/17/pakistan.violence/index.html?npt=NP1
Holy crap, I was just around there a few weeks ago. The MQM are involved in, and also victims of, some pretty nasty violence in Sindh province, and especially in Karachi.
Hell On Earth ??? [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFfoEuJDjak&feature=related"]YouTube - Sialkot Innocent Boys Murdered complete video 100% part 2.flv[/ame] 2 young students brutally killed by a mob in Sialkot. The incident happened with police and many people watching everything. No one had the courage to stop the killers who were beating the two young men barbarically.
I believe there were video links in the OP, although I chose not to watch them. It's bad enough to read about it.
Stupidity still reigns in many parts of that country: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...two-worshippers-in-mosque-attack-2089407.html And drone attacks continue to kill: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/alleged-us-missiles-kill-four-in-pakistan-2089489.html
This thread is far too critical of Pakistan. Here's something in a lighter vein. Diplomat denied posting because of an obscene name This is hilarious Another link ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Today morning, the Blackberry news service ( they send news scrolls every 15 mins) reported that Sukhbir, Surinder Shinda , Abrar ul Haq and Punjabi MC are planning a joint concert in Lahore for the flood victims. Then they cross over the Wagah border and perform at Amritsar and Chandigarh. I couldn't find any mention of this in the mainstream Indian or Pakistani media. Has anyone come across this news?
Are Pakistani soldiers shooting captured people? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11455858 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/30/world/asia/30pstan.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=asia
I has mentioned this story previously in the Second Amendment thread: http://www.aolnews.com/2011/01/27/police-us-diplomat-kills-2-would-be-robbers-in-pakistan/ http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/02/04/ap/politics/main7319099.shtml Don't know if this will complicate things: http://articles.cnn.com/2011-02-06/...re-pakistani-government-dawn-news?_s=PM:WORLD An odd angle: http://in.news.yahoo.com/us-denies-...kistan-raymond-davis-20110208-215919-818.html "The Washington Post quoted a Pakistani intelligence official as saying that the situation was complicated as the two men Davis killed were not armed robbers, but intelligence agents assigned to tail him. This official said the two men intended to frighten Davis as he crossed a 'red line' that the official did not further define."
If not this guy, then something else. Simply put, the Pakistan government can't thread the needle between it's "friend of the US" official policy and its "backward ass, quietly Taliban supporting" reality much longer.
The other shoe falls, perhaps not unexpectedly: http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia...is-is-CIA-could-further-jeopardize-his-return
Does he or does he not have diplomatic immunity? If he does and they keep him anyway, why would ANY diplomat posted in Pakistan, from any nation, not be on a plane the next day?
Perhaps none are out doing solo "field work", putting themselves in a position where they are spotted & targeted as a foreigned by robbers ... Previous articles had mentioned that his story about being in the area to use an ATM seemed disingenuous.
Due to the fact that both were armed & had in their possession items which had just been taken from others at gunpoint, I have my suspicions ...
That, inter alia, is what the court will decide. Some reports suggest he was there as CIA in order to find and kill insurgents. Uncorroborated reports, and denied by the US. But if true, should diplomatic cover be extended to such activities?
He has diplomatic immunity, period. He was registered with the Pakistani foreign ministry. This is common practice in the spy game and we've sent home plenty of Russians and Chinese quietly. A good deal of people are saying that they were Pakistani intel.
After they've shot & killed two Americans? Moonlighting as armed robbers? Interesting way to supplement one's pay. IMO, if any aspect of that claim is true, perhaps it's the angle that they were associated with some faction of the Pakistani security services, either shadowing Davis, or asked to "send him a message", to keep him from wandering around town for his own purposes.
I doubt the US have quietly sent back any registered diplomats who have killed one of their citizens. I could be wrong, though.
A Saudi diplomat was arrested in the United States for soliciting sex with a preteen girl. He was deported and not prosecuted. Not quite murder, but still pretty bad. An Afghan diplomat in the 1980s ran over a woman in order to get a better parking spot. Deported. Libyan officials shot a policewoman in London in the 1980s from the window of the Libyan embassy. Sent home A year ago, a Qatari diplomat started smoking on a plane, made jokes about terrorism forced the intervention of air marshals. He was recalled by Qatar. A Georgian diplomats son was arrested for drinking and driving and killing a woman. He was released, but the government of Georgia waived his immunity, so he was prosecuted. A Russian official ran over two Canadians in Ottawa. Russia refused to waive diplomatic immunity, but instead preferred to prosecute him in Russia. There was a case in the UK similar, where the Saudis tried to claim immunity, but the problem was they did not register the man with the Foreign Office when he entered the country, so no dice. Whether he SHOULD have diplomatic immunity is completely a different story.
Well, it would certainly have to be "quietly"! OTOH, should a registered diplomat have shot & killed two armed robbers somewhere in NYC, he'd probably be the toast of the town! I doubt we'd be seeing protests calling for his execution, widow committing suicide, politicians railling against him.
Accidental killings are one thing, deliberate killings are another. In this case, US diplomatic staff (I think they had diplomatic status, anyway, but they were people from the Embassy) killed a civilian when responding to the initial event. The people involved in the accidental killing were indeed quietly taken out of the country. Shooting someone to death is another matter altogether. If the country where the diplomat came from had regularly been sending drones to bomb people in NYC, he would be the "toast of the town" only in the sense that people would want him burned to a crisp. The "armed robber" thing also needs to be heard before a court, and is a side issue. If he doesn't have diplomatic status, he can bring up that assertion as part of his defence. The guy is being held and the Pakistani courts are going to determine his status. If he has diplomatic immunity, the Government should release him and take the political flak that will no doubt come their way. If he doesn't, they should prosecute him.
Deliberate killing? I don't buy that, unless you know something I don't that he somehow murdered these guys in cold blood. Having a blood alcohol level twice the limit and racing through a major urban area and killing someone is usually called vehicular homicide.