WASHINGTON: The White House has said that US is currently focused on getting its diplomat Raymond Davis released from Pakistan, notwithstanding the setback it received at the hands of Pakistani courts. Davis, who held US diplomatic passport, is currently under arrest in Pakistan on charges of murder of two Pakistani nationals. “The United States on Pakistan is focused on ensuring that the diplomatic status of Davis is honored and we”re focused on having him released,” White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters at his daily news conference. Meanwhile, State Department Deputy Spokesman Mark Toner said, “He (Davis) should be released immediately because of his diplomatic immunity.” “Our fundamental argument here remains the fact that, under the Vienna Conventions, he should have full diplomatic immunity and should be released immediately, and we call on the Pakistani Government to do so. That said, we”re also saying that he was obviously innocent of any criminal action and was simply defending himself in a botched robbery,” Toner said. The US, he said, is disappointed at the turn of events on Pakistan on this issue. There were two separate court actions today in Lahore. One was the Lahore High Court that requested that the government of Pakistan made a filing on the question of diplomatic immunity, and apparently they postponed that to March 14th. The US is not a party to that particular case. There was no question of sending US lawyers to this case. “That’’s strictly between the Lahore High Court and the Government of Pakistan,” he said. There was also a Lahore Sessions Court in which Raymond Davis was remanded today to judicial custody for an additional 14 days on weapons possession charges. “That’’s apparently a periodic court hearing as the case goes on. Davis did participate in that Lahore Sessions Court hearing via videoconference from where he’s being held and detained. A representative of the US Consulate General in Lahore attended the session in the courtroom,” he said. The President has made the point that if a country is a signatory to the Vienna Convention, these things work because everybody complies with the letter of the law. So there’’s a reciprocity issue, he said. “There’’s an issue here that the Vienna Conventions allow diplomats all over the world – our diplomats, Pakistani diplomats to conduct their business free from the fear, threat of criminal prosecution. So that’’s how the law works,” Toner said in response to a question. (Online)
Written on February 18, 2011 | Posted in
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A new report says Pakistan is the deadliest nation in the world for journalists. The report by the Committee to Protect Journalists, titled “Attacks on the Press,” says eight journalists were …
Written on February 15, 2011 | Posted in
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Pakistani actresses Sidra Noor (left), Asma Butt the organizer and Simra Noor also an actress, at the press conference of a Pakistani musical show to be held in …
Written on February 9, 2011 | Posted in
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LONDON: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was back in court Monday for a showdown with Swedish authorities to fight an extradition bid over sex crimes allegations. Media report the tall Australian arrived at Belmarsh Magistrates” Court dressed in dark blue suit and looking well-groomed and relaxed. He took his placed, arms crossed, in the court’’s glass-fronted dock, flanked by two courtroom guards. Assange lawyer Geoffrey Robertson said his client was fighting extradition because such trials in Sweden are usually held in secret. A trial behind closed doors would be “a flagrant denial of justice … blatantly unfair, not only by British standards but by European standards and indeed by international standards,” he said. “You cannot have a fair trial where the press and the public are excluded from the court,” Robertson said. Assange is accused of sexual misconduct by two women he met during a visit to Stockholm last year. Defense lawyers argue that he should not be extradited because he has not been charged with a crime, because of flaws in Swedish prosecutors” case – and because a ticket to Sweden could eventually land him in Guantanamo Bay or on U.S. death row. American officials are trying to build a criminal case against the secret-spilling site, which has angered Washington by publishing a trove of leaked diplomatic cables and secret U.S. military files. Assange’’s lawyers claim the Swedish prosecution is linked to the leaks and politically motivated. Assange’’s legal team claim “there is a real risk that, if extradited to Sweden, the U.S. will seek his extradition and/or illegal rendition to the USA, where there will be a real risk of him being detained at Guantanamo Bay or elsewhere.” “There is a real risk that he could be made subject to the death penalty” if sent to the United States, Assange’’s lawyers contend. Under European law, suspects cannot be extradited to jurisdictions where they may face execution.
Written on February 8, 2011 | Posted in
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Associated Press reports. “The field test is meant to pave the way for the use of genetically engineered Aedes aegypti male mosquitoes to mate with females and produce no offspring or ones with …
Written on January 28, 2011 | Posted in
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ISLAMABAD: Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar Wednesday denied news reports which said that President Asif Ali Zardari had been using services of foreign security guards, Geo News reported. “President Zardari has never used services of foreign security guards and no such option is under consideration,” he clarified in a statement issued here. He said despite clarification in this regard the purpose of carrying these reports by a section of the press was to fan sensation. “This way of reporting is totally against the facts and objectivity,” he regretted. Farhatullah Babar said the same security that had been deployed at the Presidential House before the President’s taking oath of the office was still working without any change.
Written on January 19, 2011 | Posted in
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As a powerful earthquake struck southwestern Pakistan in the small hours Wednesday, tremors were felt in parts of northwestern India, including the national capital, reported the Press Trust of India.
Written on January 19, 2011 | Posted in
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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON — The White House says President Barack Obama will meet with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari when he comes to Washington for the memorial service of Ambassador
Written on January 13, 2011 | Posted in
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LONDON: In an exclusive interview with the British magazine, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange leveled a threat against the mainstream news media. In the interview, Assange claims that if he is indicted by the United States, he will release so-called “insurance” cables. “There are 504 U.S. embassy cables on one broadcasting organization and there are cables on Murdoch and News Corp.,” Assange said. He added that should he be indicted, the press should be worried that the protection provided to them by the First Amendment is fading.
Written on January 13, 2011 | Posted in
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Pakistan World's 'Deadliest Country” for the Press in 2010 Tribal elders from Pakistan and Afghanistan will soon hold a meeting, or jirga, in an attempt to bolster peace between the cou
Written on January 6, 2011 | Posted in
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