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- Rekha Basu
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Critics of Pakistan's government have long complained that our uncritical friendship with it implicitly rewarded its winks and nods to the extremists it claimed to be fighting. Now, suddenly, the United States is playing hardball with Pakistan - but only to protect a killer from prosecution. Of all places to draw a line in the sand, that's an odd one.
Emotionally fraught case
On Jan. 27, Raymond Davis, a U.S. consular employee, shot and killed two Pakistani men as he drove through a crowded Lahore street. He claimed they were trying to attack him. A U.S. official has called it an attempted robbery. But Lahore's police chief, though acknowledging one of the men pointed his (empty) gun at Davis, says Davis committed murder. Why he was even armed no one has said.
Emotionally fraught case
On Jan. 27, Raymond Davis, a U.S. consular employee, shot and killed two Pakistani men as he drove through a crowded Lahore street. He claimed they were trying to attack him. A U.S. official has called it an attempted robbery. But Lahore's police chief, though acknowledging one of the men pointed his (empty) gun at Davis, says Davis committed murder. Why he was even armed no one has said.
The case is emotionally fraught for Pakistanis. The widow of one of the victims committed suicide, after saying she was convinced her husband's killer would never be brought to justice. And indeed, the U.S. government is determined that he not be, in Pakistani courts at least. Saying he has diplomatic immunity, U.S. officials want him returned to the United States - but without promising to prosecute him here.
Over his case, the White House reportedly has threatened to shut down all three U.S. consulates in Pakistan and postpone any bilateral talks. The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee has made veiled threats regarding the $2 billion in military aid we give Pakistan. Sen. John Kerry was dispatched last week to insist on diplomatic immunity.
Over his case, the White House reportedly has threatened to shut down all three U.S. consulates in Pakistan and postpone any bilateral talks. The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee has made veiled threats regarding the $2 billion in military aid we give Pakistan. Sen. John Kerry was dispatched last week to insist on diplomatic immunity.
Davis deserves a fair trial, but Pakistan's courts are capable of giving him one. Diplomatic immunity is a good principle, since diplomats are technically guests of the government - assuming they behave. When they've been accused of a serious crime or witnessed one, governments have willingly waived their own immunity in the interests of justice. The United States has asked this of other countries.
Different outcome in the past
In 1997, Georgia's deputy ambassador to the United States caused an accident while driving drunk, which killed a 16-year-old girl and injured four people. Our government asked Georgia to waive Gueorgui Makharadze's diplomatic immunity. It agreed, and he was tried here, convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to seven to 21 years, though later released to serve part of his sentence in Georgia.
Different outcome in the past
In 1997, Georgia's deputy ambassador to the United States caused an accident while driving drunk, which killed a 16-year-old girl and injured four people. Our government asked Georgia to waive Gueorgui Makharadze's diplomatic immunity. It agreed, and he was tried here, convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to seven to 21 years, though later released to serve part of his sentence in Georgia.
But when asked to do the same, we've been less agreeable. In 2004 we refused to lift diplomatic immunity for a Marine who'd been working with the American Embassy in Romania when he ran a stop sign and collided with a taxi, killing a singer. A Breathalyzer showed his blood-alcohol content to be 0.09 percent, but Christopher Van Goethem left the country before charges could be filed. The United States rejected Romania's request to lift his immunity. He was court-martialed and acquitted of manslaughter.
There are rumors in Pakistan that Davis was a spy and the two victims were Pakistani intelligence agents. State Department officials have generally been tight lipped about him. One spokesperson directed me to a daily press briefing on its website, which added nothing, and another didn't return a call.
Whatever his job, we need to approach this not with bluster or threats, but with humility. To threaten aid and diplomatic relations when one of our own is accused of wrongdoing makes it appear we have a double standard. At such a tense and volatile time in the region, we risk creating unnecessary resentment by seeming arrogant and cavalier about the loss of Pakistani life. We would expect better if the shoe were on the other foot.
Whatever his job, we need to approach this not with bluster or threats, but with humility. To threaten aid and diplomatic relations when one of our own is accused of wrongdoing makes it appear we have a double standard. At such a tense and volatile time in the region, we risk creating unnecessary resentment by seeming arrogant and cavalier about the loss of Pakistani life. We would expect better if the shoe were on the other foot.
