Pakistanis demand death for Davis

A Pakistani demonstrator shouts anti-American slogans during a protest to demand the death penalty for a US consulate employee. (file photo)

Source: Press TV

Hundreds of protesters in the Pakistani city of Lahore have taken to the streets, demanding the death penalty for a US consulate employee, Raymond Davis, accused of killing two Pakistanis.

Up to 500 people rallied outside the headquarters of Jamaat-e-Islami party in Lahore on Friday, shouting “Hang Davis,” “US terrorism in Pakistan unacceptable” and “Friends of America are traitors.”

In Karachi, activists from Jamaat-e-Islami and its youth wing Pasban held two rallies, burning the US flag and chanting “Death to Davis, death to America,” AFP reported Friday.

“We are deeply disappointed over threats by the US government,” senior Jamaat-e-Islami leader Liaqat Baloch told the demonstrators.

“The Raymond Davis incident has exposed the true face of America and has exposed Blackwater, which is behind bomb blasts on sacred Muslim places and shrines,” Baloch noted.

Davis, 36, is under investigation for shooting dead two Pakistani men in Lahore last month.

He has admitted he shot the men but says he acted in self-defense because they were trying to rob him.

Pakistan's police say they have proof that it was cold-blooded murder.

Meanwhile, a Pakistani court has extended his detention by two weeks.

The court wants the government to clarify whether Davis has diplomatic status. The United States says as an embassy staffer Davis does have political immunity.

The diplomatic spat over the arrest has threatened to derail relations between the US and Pakistan.

Washington has said it would expel Pakistan's ambassador to the United States if Islamabad does not release Davis.