LAHORE/LONDON - Neither the federal government nor the rulers of Punjab are ready to take responsibility for the 'magical deal that led to the release of Raymond Davis from a Lahore jail and then flight out of Pakistan within a few hours on Wednesday. The denial by both the parties of any role raises the question as to who really helped the killer and families of the victims reach the agreement that changed the entire situation in no time. Both are trying to give the impression that it was the court that took the decision, a claim no other party is ready to believe. Information Minister Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan said at a news conference in Islamabad that the federal government had consistently been saying that courts would decide the matter and fate of the accused and the government would respect the verdict. She said the Lahore Sessions Court had made the decision for US citizens release after the families of the victims accepted compensation. She said Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah had given a statement in this regard and the federal government had asked the provincial government to provide details of the pardon. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said in a separate interview that his government had nothing to do with the agreement, as a result of which Raymond Davis was released on Wednesday. In an interview from London to a TV channel, he claimed that the government had never asked the families of the victims to make any deal. He said it was the Punjab government which had arrested Raymond Davis and kept him in jail. Also, he said, it was the Punjab government that had submitted challan against the accused. Shahbaz said it was unfair to hold the Punjab government responsible for the deal. He said he had always talked of Pakistans honour and dignity. About his visit to London, the chief minister said he had to come urgently because Nawaz Sharif had felt heart problem. PML-N leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had told a TV channel on Tuesday night that the Punjab chief minister was going to London for his personal medical check-up. Law Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan said in a late night interview that the Punjab government was aware of the talks going on between the families of the Raymond victims and the US. However, he said, the government had played no role in those talks. He said the Punjab government had made it clear that it would go by the court order. Answering a question about Wednesdays court proceedings that led to the deal, the minister said Advocate Irshad Kayani appeared before the court along with 19 members of the aggrieved families. The families submitted an application to the judge that they no longer trusted Advocate Asad Manzoor and wanted to be represented by Mr Kayani. When the court granted their request, Advocate Kayani submitted a declaration from all members that they had received compensation from the accused and had pardoned him. The judge sent all members out of the courtroom and then called them in one by one. He told every member separately that they were under no pressure to make a deal and were free to take any decision. When they told the court that they had taken the decision independently, the judge ordered the release of Raymond Davis. According to Rana Sanaullah, the accused was immediately handed over to the US consul-general, who was present in the courtroom. Having said all this, the law minister reiterated that the Punjab government had played no role in the deal, nor would it ever come to be seen.