LHC moved against shifting of Davis from Lahore

LAHORE: Barrister Javed Iqbal Jaffree on Saturday filed a petition before the Lahore High Court (LHC), asking it to direct the government not to remove US gunman Raymond Davis from the Lahore district and should not issue any forged immunity letter to save the accused. The petitioner stated that the government was trying to shift the accused from Kot Lakhpat Jail to Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi to pave the way for his escape from the country. He said the accused should not be shifted from Lahore until final decision of the court. He said the federal government was intending to give immunity to the accused under Vienna Convention, which was illegal. The government officials should be barred from issuing any backdated or forged certificate of immunity to the accused, he said, adding that certified copies of all the documents and the relevant record related to Davis case be provided to the court. He said that all the relevant authorities in Pakistan should be cautioned and directed that Raymond Davis’s fake identity was Raymond Allen Davis and not Raymond Davis Allen, as erroneously notified by the government authorities in Exit Control List (ECL). He requested that revising its earlier order of putting name of the accused in the ECL, issue directions that photographic identity must be distributed countrywide and photographs of Davis be provided to all airports and exit points throughout Pakistan. He said a US TV revealed that the driver and his accomplice, who crushed Ibadur Rehman to death, had safely reached US. He stated that there was no need for the federal government to ask for three more weeks to respond on the immunity question of the accused. He said Davis should be treated as a murder accused and no special benefits should be given to him. staff report