Perhaps, the real reason the USA wishes to deny that it got Raymond Davis released is because it does not want two things: first, to admit that it used the Islamic provision of blood money to get him released; and second, to concede that it obeyed the law, because Pakistan had raised the matter to a level where for the USA the matter of Davis release had become one of prestige, and what was the use of being a superpower if it had to rely on the provisions of the law. As it is, the Supreme Courts Shariat Benchs ruling almost 20 years ago, that the then provision for crimes against the person was un-Islamic, was what saved Davis. As a result, a Qisas and Diyat Ordinance was promulgated, making both revenge and blood-money part of the Pakistan Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code. Blood money is not a concept unfamiliar to Anglo-Saxon law, on which American law is based, but the blood money provisions had long fallen into disuse, and out of the recognition of the courts, when the judiciary won its independence. If blood money is not paid for an injury, the heirs have the option of inflicting a similar injury, or taking a prescribed blood money. Therefore, the heirs of those killed on January 27, had the option of forgiving him, inflicting a similar death, or accepting the prescribed blood money. The settlement, of $2.7 million, exceeded the prescribed amount, but that is known to happen in blood money cases, with the heirs being paid extra to accept the prescribed amount. However, one of the most obvious questions arising out of the release is what happened to the spying accusations Davis was facing. After all, he was a CIA man, even if only a contractor, and he was on duty. Not only was that not accounted for, but it was not even part of the charges against him, the only other charge, under the Arms Act, for possession of the murder weapon, also being dealt with by a magistrate swiftly. That there are not many more contractors out there, busily engaged, depends on only the say-so ofwell, no one. Those who said that there had been many are now silent, and have not explained how the danger has gone away. The question of the spying accusations almost inevitably raises the question of the role of the ISI, thus the army, and thus of the governments controlling all the events. The ISI would like to escape blame for the episode, but it was at the forefront of ensuring that there were no more Davises. While the ISI developed a special relationship with the CIA during the Afghan Jihad, which continued into the war on terror, it believed it had an agreement that the CIA was not to engage in independent operations in its area. The USA has always tried to break this agreement down, and if the ISI, or anyone else, thinks Washington would stop in exchange for Davis release, that would be entirely mistaken. However, the same attitude that would allow drone missiles in the tribal areas to kill Pakistani citizens with impunity, would not see a problem in letting the deaths of two young men be used to achieve certain targets. The politics is interesting. The real reason is that the PPP and the PML-N share a split mandate, and where the PPP is responsible for foreign relations, the double-murder occurred in the Punjab, in fact in its capital, where law and order and justice are provincial subjects, making the Punjab government responsible for all that happened to Davis to the point he entered the Lahore airport, a federal facility, where a plane waited to whisk him away. This alone should make clear the official American desire that he not be allowed to speak. Was what he might say so damaging to the USA, particularly the war on terror? It should be remembered that all that has so far been said about Davis has not been proved, but if he was to confess even one point, it would be, and that too in a court of law. Whether or not Davis was a diplomat has not been tested. Instead of adjudicating on this point, the Lahore High Court merely batted it back to the trial court, which was left with no option, but to acquit the accused before it could take up this point. It may be that the prescribed procedure for a payer of Diyat is acquittal, but the payment is itself an admission, and the offence has been compounded. The Anglo-Saxon law had made the murder an offence against the state, not compoundable but the Qisas and Diyat Ordinance made it compoundable and the heirs can go to the extent of forgiving the killer, but the question will arise, in any investigation that Davis might face, is whether the payment involves an admission of guilt. The associated questions are whether his actions constitute self-defence, which is a defence against a charge of murder, and whether that defence can be raised once it had not been raised in a Pakistani court. Of course, it could be argued that there could be no further proceedings on the principle of double jeopardy, as Davis had been tried by a Pakistani court, but that would involve not just Davis, but the US State Department, conceding what both have been arguing so fiercely all along, that the US national is a diplomat, entitled to the relevant immunity. It must be remembered that he was acquitted without being declared a diplomat, and thus would be presumed not to be one. It could not acquit without acknowledging that it had jurisdiction, which would be a poser for any American court, unless it refused to accept the concept of blood money, in which case it would have to proceed to try Davis. Incidentally, Davis has been expensive. The least immediate effect has been the confessions involving him, but the most tangible expense has been the $2.7 million given to the heirs of the men he killed. The USA does not acknowledge making the payment, and it seems that the money has come from the Pakistan government against future reimbursement. Government money is ultimately traceable, and thus it should become apparent which department Davis belonged to. The blood money would come out of its budget in the end. But this could take a long time, as first it would come out of a Pakistani budget, and only then into it from the relevant American budget, with any number of budgets intervening on both sides. There is the entirely separate cost of damaged institutional relationships, as well as the visas that it seems that Davis promised to a lot of people, and which they believe will be honoured. Obviously, he is seen as not just important, but also powerful. However, one of the most unfortunate aspects of the situation is that Americans have had proven once again the truth of the claim that Pakistanis would sell their own mothers for a few dollars. The Americans expected Davis either to hang or go free, though no one has asked how they would react if they were heir of a murder victim under a system whereby one could be acquitted by a court, if one paid blood money. There does not seem to have been any settlement of the issue of Ibadur Rehman, who was run over by Davis rescuers. However, anyone asking for blood money for his heirs would merely be justifying the blood money paid to the heirs of Faheem and Faizan. And perhaps one of the reason they accepted the blood money was not just because enough was offered, as because while they could embody the wishes to the nation, but because they were not willing to be any agencys tool. The USA can take some satisfaction that it was able to extract its man while his lips were still sealed, but it should remain worried about the underlying anti-Americanism reflected in the episode. And the government should wonder about the friendliness of those friends, who were willing to throw them to the wolves. It must be remembered that if Davis had been released even though Gaddafis last stand had failed, then the movement in Pakistan may well have not fizzled out. But then the USA doesnt care.