THE unfortunate incident at Lahore, which saw three Pakistanis killed by US Consulate personnel is taking an ugly turn. The US operative alias Raymond Davis is under custody and the government of Pakistan is letting the law of the land takes its due process for shooting and killing two Pakistanis. However, little or no action appears to have been taken regarding the bike-rider killed by the speeding US Consulate vehicle. The third victim has been identified as Ubaidur Rehman, a resident of A-Block, Gulshan-e-Ravi, Lahore. Eyewitnesses said a speeding white-coloured Honda Civic car, bearing number LEC-5545, reached Qartaba Chowk (Mozang Chungi), and had to stop at the red traffic signal at around 2:30 pm. In the meantime, two young men riding a black Honda 125 motorcycle, allegedly chasing the car, came in front of it. According to a police official, as one of the motorcyclists tried to whip out his pistol, the US Consulate official opened indiscriminate fire on them from inside the car. As a result, both fell on the road in a pool of blood. The alleged killer came out of his car, took their pictures and made a movie on his cell phone. In the meantime, the official through a wireless set called a backup squad. The incident resulted in severe traffic jam and minutes after the incident, at around 2:40 pm, the backup cruiser bearing a ‘fake number plate’, LZN-6970, reached the spot. After seeing the traffic jam, the driver of the backup vehicle violated one-way by crossing the median and hit a motorcyclist. The mob tried to capture the accused US official, but he along with the backup vehicle managed to flee the scene. Rescue 1122 reached the spot and shifted the injured people to the Services Hospital, where all three died. Police, after being informed by a traffic warden, chased the US official’s car and managed to seize it near Old Anarkali.
The US official was taken to the police station along with his car and later shifted to the US Consulate by DSP Safdar Raza Kazmi. However, the backup vehicle could not be seized.This is not the first time that US Embassy officials have been engaged in incidents involving law and order in Pakistan. Last year on June 5th, a US Embassy vehicle crushed a poor man to death and injured three others, besides damaging other vehicles. The driver of the US Embassy vehicle, claiming diplomatic immunity got away scot free. Prior to this incident, two US citizens were apprehended carrying weapons in the capital city of Islamabad. The incident in Lahore is most unfortunate and although the person going by the name of Raymond Davis is facing the music, it is essential that the driver of the backup vehicle be also apprehended and made to face charges of manslaughter. If the culprits are not booked under the law of the land, they will get further emboldened and go on a killing spree and take more innocent lives – Dailymailtimes
