The U. S. on Tuesday assured Pakistan that its Justice Department would conduct a criminal investigation into the case of the American Embassy employee, Raymond Davis, gunning down two ‘armed’ Pakistanis in Lahore in ‘self-defence’.
This assurance was given by U. S. Senate Foreign Relations Chairman John Kerry in a media interaction in Lahore soon after he reached Pakistan in a bid to resolve the stand-off that is threatening the strategic alliance.
“It is customary for our government to conduct a criminal investigation and that will take place….This thorough investigation will be conducted regardless of the immunity,” Mr. Kerry said. Article 31(4) of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations states that “the immunity of a diplomatic agent from the jurisdiction of the receiving State does not exempt him from the jurisdiction of the sending State”.
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This is the clause that the U.S. is now flagging in the hope of securing the release of Davis who has been in police custody since January 27.