ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan has said the recently-published book of the former CIA contractor, Raymond Davis, has exposed the “shameful” role played by Pakistan’s civil and military leadership in arranging the escape of a murderer from the country.

In a brief statement issued by the party’s central media office here on Saturday, the PTI chief has advised all the Pakistanis to go through the book which will help them understand the reason as to why Pakistanis do not get respect at the international level.

“The book tells the shameful story about the nexus between (our) civil-military leadership in arranging the escape of a brutal murderer,” Mr Khan said.

The PTI chief said “the book narrates the whole story as to how the murderer of four Pakistanis managed to escape (from the country)” with the help of the civil and military officials.

Raymond Davis, a former contractor of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) who had shot dead two men in Lahore in January 2011, in his book The Contractor: How I Landed in a Pakistani Prison and Ignited a Diplomatic Crisis, has recalled the events that took place during his trial in a Lahore prison and the efforts made by his country in making his escape possible with the help of the then civil and military leadership of the country.

In his book, Davis has also narrated the incidents that led to his ultimate release and escape from the country in a special plane after paying blood money to the heirs of the deceased.

In the book, which has nowadays become a hot topic of discussion at diplomatic, political and social gatherings inside and outside Pakistan, Raymond Davis has claimed that former chief of the Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) Shuja Pasha was “clearly committed” to ensuring that the deal for his release was successful.

Davis has also explained that the plan to rescue him by paying blood money hinged on the acquiescence of the 18 family members of his victims and “ISI agents applied as much pressure as needed to get them to accept the diyat”.

Davis claims that the ISI agents took the family members to Kot Lakhpat Jail and encouraged them to accept the deal. They were told that if they forgave Davis, they would be given a large sum of money in return.

Published in Dawn, July 2nd, 2017