US concerned about Raymond Davis's safety

Voicing concern over the safety of its national Raymond Davis arrested in Lahore for double murder, the US has asked Pakistan to take appropriate security measures in the wake of multiple death threats received by him.

"We are quite aware that he had received multiple death threats. We are concerned about his security, as we would be for any government official or prominent individual subject to those death threats," state department spokesperson PJ Crowley said at his daily news conference last evening.

"We encourage the government of Pakistan to do everything possible to provide for his security. But beyond that, we won't comment," he said, adding that the US continues to work with Islamabad and hopes to resolve the issue as quickly as it can.

Thirty-seven-year-old Davis, a suspected CIA contractor, is currently lodged in Lahore's Koth Lakhpat jail and undergoing trial for killing two Pakistanis he claimed were trying to rob him.

However, Pakistani police has rejected his claim that he acted in self defence and charged him with murder.

Pakistan has rejected repeated US demands to free Davis who, the authorities here claim, enjoys diplomatic immunity. Islamabad has said the matter will be decided by the Pakistani courts.