Federal government not CIA, had paid the blood money in Raymond Davis case: Khawaja Asif
Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif on 25th August disclosed that the federal government had paid the blood money to the heirs of three people killed by United States Central Intelligence Agency contractor Raymond Davis in Lahore in 2011. “But God knows from which account the amount had been paid,” he also added.
He termed the episode shameful and embarrassing for the nation and asserted the supremacy of parliament. Each institution should be answerable to parliament, he said.
Without naming anybody, he said there appeared to be a clear individual interest in honouring commitments made outside Pakistan or to strengthen his position. He opined that not institutions, but individuals appeared to have played a role in freeing Davis.
Raymond Allen Davis is a former United States Army soldier, private security firm employee, and contractor with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). On January 27, 2011, Davis killed two reportedly armed men in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Although the U.S. government contended that he was protected by diplomatic immunity because of his employment with the U.S. Consulate in Lahore, Davis was jailed and criminally charged by Pakistani authorities with double murder and the illegal possession of a firearm. A car coming to aid Davis killed a third Pakistani man, Ibadur Rahman, in a "hit and run" while speeding on the wrong side of the road. On March 16, 2011, Davis was released after the families of the two killed men were paid $2.4 million in diyya (a form of monetary compensation or blood money). Judges then acquitted him on all charges and Davis immediately departed Pakistan.