A diplomat or spy saboteur

In the wake of my article titled Raymond Davis Fiasco published in TheNation on February 19, 2011, there were more astonishing developments: First, the sacking of Shah Mahmood Qureshi as Foreign Minister of Pakistan and his disclosure that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton telephoned asking him to declare Davis as a diplomat (which he is not) and release him Second, President Barack Obamas concern about the spy, and advising the Pakistan government to abide by the Vienna Convention. In a press conference, Obama asserted that the US has been very firm with Pakistan in demanding the release of the detained American diplomat. He said: There is broader principle at stake that I think we may have to uphold. The US President, known to have created history by being the first black occupant of the Oval Office, has once again made history by being the first President - correct me if I am wrong - to address a press conference in support of 'an individual and demanded a sovereign country to treat someone, who brutally murdered two innocent Pakistanis in broad daylight, as a diplomat and release him. After that the President instructed the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to visit Pakistan and get Davis released. The US administration seems to have gone berserk over the detention of the secret agent who committed murder. Senator John Kerry, Chairman Senate Foreign Relations Committee and co-sponsor of the Kerry-Lugar Act, made a whirlwind dash to Pakistan on February 15, 2011. On arrival, he immediately addressed a press conference, met all the government and opposition leaders, and also the Chief of Army Staff. In his conversation, he took a mild position while referring to the Vienna Convention and pleaded for Davis release. In a mellow tone, he tried to convince his audience that he had not come to Pakistan with any ultimatum, but.to make the relationship grow between Pakistan and the US. However, he reminded that America has helped Pakistan many times and discretely hinted that the failure to resolve this case sensibly will affect relations between the two countries in future. He claimed: Secretary Clinton and I calmed down fellow Senators, who moved the resolution against the aid. In his effort to convince Pakistan, he even promised to prosecute Davis in his own country. But despite Kerrys repeated requests, the Pakistani government and all the others whom he met said that the matter was sub judice, and that they will abide by the courts verdict. Kerry was obviously disappointed and returned empty-handed. With the passage of time, more facts about Davis have come to light, which show that the US has much more at stake than the declared US spy. The involvement of Obama, Clinton, Kerry, and the CIA and their fretting over the issue is not for an individual, but it is their anxiety to cover up something more serious than that meets the eye. Not being a legalist, I would refrain from referring to the Vienna Convention, but would like to point out that the documents provided by the US Embassy to the Government of Pakistan since the first day of the tragic incident negated Americas contention that Davis was a diplomat. On January 25, 2011, the Embassy forwarded a list of 48 names of its employees to Pakistans Foreign Office for the issue of relevant diplomatic cards. The murderers name was not included in it. Three days later on January 28 - a day after the Mozang tragedy - the US Embassy sent a revised list with his name included in it. Moreover, no explanation has been offered to the Government of Pakistan as to why Davis name was missing from the list sent earlier. The two lists of the Embassy made it clear that he (Davis) was not a diplomat (now proved by the courts verdict). Some sane voices in America too had doubts about his diplomatic status. Mr Stratford, a think-tank of Global Intelligence Forecast Organisation of America, maintains: As a contract employee assigned to the US Consulate in Lahore, Raymond Davis was likely not on the diplomatic list and probably did not enjoy full diplomatic immunity. Washington Post analyst commended: The US officials offered incomplete and often confusing accounts of the events surrounding the shooting, Daviss identity and his assignment in Pakistan. The documents with Islamabad show that since his assignment in Pakistan (i.e. September 2009), he had visited the country nine times. Similarly, while ostensibly posted in the Consulate, he visited North Waziristan nine to 12 times. One may ask: Why did an employee of the Lahore Consulate need to visit Waziristan so frequently? Indeed, Davis case has become highly complex with a host of related issues that are cropping up daily. According to USAs Secret Service website, his annual remuneration is three times more than the other hired American secret undercover agents. Perhaps, it is because he is entrusted with a special and exceedingly sensitive job. With this background, Davis arrogant attitude, his dubious and secret contacts with dissident terrorists, the possessions including sophisticated weapons, sensitive cameras, ammunition, a packet of niswar, etc recovered from his car, all point to the Americans being after their life-long objective in Pakistan: our nuclear capability. All said and done, it must be understood that the Raymond Davis fiasco is only one of the outcomes of a bigger whole; where the core of the problem is the nuclear capability of Pakistan. It may be remembered that the US opposed Pakistans turning into a nuclear state in 1998; it tried to persuade, browbeat and intimidate it through economic sanctions to abandon the venture, but Islamabad stood its ground. Eventually, the US decided to physically eliminate it and the spy is one of the hundreds undercover secret agents engaged in fulfilling this nefarious task. The American threat of economic sanctions and curtailment of diplomatic interactions, if implemented, will surely hurt Pakistan. However, I am sure that it will not go that far. There are many impediments for the Americans; the US is well aware that Pakistanis cooperation is critical for its success against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, and that the US and NATO forces cannot be sustained in the war-torn country without Pakistans cooperation in allowing fuel and other supplies to pass through. Most importantly, the Americans would like to keep their lien on our nuclear arsenal, hoping that in future they may be able to achieve their long-time objective. The Raymond Davis stand-off has provided Pakistan with an opportunity to take a stand against American threats and arm twisting. These are only their pressure tactics. Pakistans firm and bold attitude towards the case will force Washington to mellow down and look for some compromise. It will also caution America not to take Pakistan for granted in future. The writer is former ADC to the Quaid-i-Azam.