ISLAMABAD: Ending his silence over the release of Raymond Davis from prison, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani came out with a statement on Friday, supporting the blood money deal under which the CIA operative had been set free. Mr Gilani’s statement was apparently also aimed at defending the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) which worked out a secret deal with CIA before the matter was resolved through blood money.
“It is inappropriate to hold any single institution responsible for the final outcome of the case,” the statement issued by the Prime Minister’s House said.
Davis left Pakistan on Wednesday after he was pardoned by the heirs of the men killed by him on payment of $2.3 million in blood money.
Though the offer for blood money had been on the table for almost a month, the deal materialised only after reports of successful negotiations between CIA and ISI over their differences, some of which had only become public after the Davis episode. The differences were mostly operational in nature.
Political leaders are increasingly asking the government to make public the details of issues settled during behind-the-scene talks.
The Jamaat-i-Islami has filed an adjournment motion in the Senate, while former Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who had reportedly lost his job for adopting a hard line on the Davis issue, asked the government for a “full and transparent account of the release of Raymond Davis to the members of the party and its parliamentary allies, before the presidential address to the joint session of parliament on March 22”.
“The country’s leadership, including the opposition, had reached a consensus that the final decision would be taken by the court. This consensus was also in line with the public sentiment at large. The court decided in favour of release of the detainee which has been implemented,” Mr Gilani said.
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