The Pakistan government has retreated into a shell following the release of double murder-accused CIA contractor Raymond Davis, as the revelation sparked countrywide angry protests and emotional outbursts on television talk shows, accusing the federal and Punjab governments and also military and intelligence services of bartering national interest and indulging in a secret sell-out.
Ever since Davis was freed and quickly flown out of Pakistan after the heirs of the two victims told a local court on Wednesday that they had accepted blood money, there has been no comment from the Presidency, the Prime Minister’s House or the Foreign Office on the development.
Fears of a backlash were so intense in government circles that the Foreign Office cancelled its weekly media briefing, which is usually held on Thursdays, the Dawn reports.
This gave a field day to what some government officials privately described as ‘ghairat (honour) brigade’, which used the opportunity to lash out at the government and the military.
According to the report, an inadvertent release of US Ambassador Cameron Munter’s reaction on this issue, confirmed that the deal had been finalised almost a week ago, but its implementation got delayed probably because of issues pertaining to the execution of the deal.
“The families of the victims of the January 27 incident in Lahore have pardoned Raymond Davis. I am grateful for their generosity. I wish to express, once again, my regret for the incident and my sorrow at the suffering it caused. I can confirm that the United States Department of Justice has opened an investigation into the incident in Lahore,” Munter said in the statement.
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