The ongoing stand-off between the United States and Pakistan over arrested American embassy staffer Raymond Davis got further prolonged on Thursday with the Lahore High Court granting the Foreign Office its request for three weeks time to decide on his diplomatic status.
Reacting to the hearing, U. S. Ambassador Cameron Munter expressed disappointment over the Pakistan government's failure to provide certification of Davis' diplomatic immunity in court. As to whether the U.S. presented certification of his diplomatic immunity at Thursday's hearing, embassy spokesperson said “we were not made a party to that petition''.
The position taken by the Foreign Office belied the optimism articulated by U. S. Senate Foreign Relations Chairman John Kerry in his departure statement on Wednesday after meetings with the Pakistani leadership. “I look forward in the next few days, hopefully, to finding ways that we all agreed on, that we can find in order to resolve this issue that's in front of us,'' he had said.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani has issued a gag order on all his Ministers regarding the Davis issue. Stating that the matter was sub judice, he said only authorised Ministers should speak on the issue that is threatening the U.S.-Pak relationship. Ever since Davis was arrested on January 27 for gunning down two ‘armed' Pakistanis in ‘self-defence', the two countries have been flexing muscles.
