US-Pak ties in jeopardy over American diplomat’s release

The Obama administration might call off the forthcoming state visit of the Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari to Washington if the Pakistan government does not release American national Raymond Davis, who is facing double murder charge for killing two Pakistanis in Lahore.

Sources say that the US has already put on hold several bilateral engagements with Pakistan. During a talk with US secretary of state Hillary Clinton on telephone a few days, Zardari reportedly expressed his inability to play a role, saying that the law will take its due course and the court will decide the fate of the detained American national.

A foreign office official said the visit was delayed due to the ‘standoff’ between the two countries on the Davis issue. “US officials are not ready to discuss anything other than the American national’s release at this stage,” he added. The US has postponed bilateral visits, including a trip by Neal Wolin deputy secretary of treasury.

Pakistan’s political leadership is inclined to end the diplomatic stalemate on the issue of Raymond Davis but it has come under intense pressure from other state institutions, which are not ready to offer immunity for the accused.

The situation has been complicated by the suicide of Shumaila Kanwal, the widow of Faheem Ahmed, one of the men murdered by Davis. The suicide event has made it quite difficult for the Gilani administration to pardon Davis.