LAHORE: A Pakistani court is to begin proceedings Friday at a hearing into double murder charges against a CIA contractor who shot dead two men in Lahore last month, lawyers said.
Washington is pushing hard for Pakistan to free Raymond Davis, arguing that he has diplomatic immunity and is backing his claim that he acted in self-defence when he shot the men in a busy city street nearly four weeks ago.
Revelations that Davis was a CIA contractor have heaped pressure on Pakistan's fragile government and further ramped up burning public mistrust of Washington.
The Pakistani court where police filed double murder charges against Davis this month is to sit Friday inside Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore, where Davis is being held, ahead of a High Court hearing to determine the diplomatic immunity issue, set for March 14.
“The hearing will be held inside Kot Lakhpat jail and notices have been served to all concerned,” public prosecutor Abdul Samad told AFP.
“The immunity case before the Lahore High Court will not affect the proceedings of this court until the high court bars it from doing so,” Samad said.
“We have framed double-murder charges against him and the copies of the final report will be provided to all parties,” he added.
Asad Manzoor Butt, the lawyer for the families of the men who were shot dead by Davis, said he had also received a notice telling him to appear in court.
“We hope to get the copy of formal charges tomorrow. It depends on the judge if he starts the hearing or adjourns it after giving of copies,” Butt said.
Police have said they recovered a Glock pistol, four loaded magazines, a GPS navigation system and a small telescope from Davis' car, after the shooting on a busy street in Lahore on January 27.
A third Pakistani was struck down and killed by a US diplomatic vehicle that came to Davis's assistance. US officials denied Pakistan access to the vehicle and the occupants are widely believed to have left the country. – AFP
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