Another twist: Blood money was paid by Saudi Arabia / SAUDI ARABIA Denies any intervention

[elipst]

Blood money was paid by S. Arabia`
By Anwar Iqbal |
From the Newspaper (5 hours ago)
Today

Diplomatic sources said that the Saudis joined the efforts to resolve the dispute late last month after it became obvious that Davis`s continued incarceration could do an irreparable damage to US-Pakistan relations. File Photo


WASHINGTON: Saudi Arabia is believed to have arranged the blood money that allowed CIA contractor Raymond Davis to go home after nearly two months in a Lahore jail, diplomatic sources told Dawn.

They said that the Saudis joined the efforts to resolve the dispute late last month after it became obvious that Davis`s continued incarceration could do an irreparable damage to US-Pakistan relations.

The Saudis agreed to pay the money, at least for now, to get Davis released, the sources said, but did not clarify if and how would the Saudis be reimbursed.

This is something that needs to be discussed between the United States and the Kingdom, one source said. Mr Davis`s surprise departure from Pakistan came after it became obvious that the Americans were getting impatient, he added.

The New York Times, however, quoted US officials as saying that the money would be paid by members of the Pakistan government, and then reimbursed by the Obama administration.

US officials, who spoke to the media, also insisted that the CIA had made no pledges to scale back covert operations in Pakistan to earn Davis`s release. The CIA also refused to give the Pakistani government or its intelligence agency a roster of American spies operating in the country, the officials said.

In an interview broadcast on Thursday by the US National Public Radio, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton did not clarify the situation either. Well, you`ll have to ask him what he means by that, said Ms Clinton when informed that Punjab`s Law Minister Rana Sanaullah was insisting that the blood money had been paid.

And a lawyer involved in the case said it was $2.34 million. There is no money that came from anywhere? she was asked.

The United States did not pay any compensation, the secretary replied. Did someone else, to your knowledge?

You will have to ask whoever you are interested in asking about that, she said.

You`re not going to talk about it? the interviewer insisted.

I have nothing to answer to that, she replied.

According to the US media, the case was resolved after Pakistani officials met family members of the victims for more than six hours on Wednesday to arrange compensation. The issue of payments was first raised with Pakistani officials by Senator John Kerry during a trip to Islamabad last month.

Since then, American and Pakistani officials had regularly discussed the matter, and CIA director Leon Panetta had spoken frequently to ISI chief Lt-Gen Ahmad Shuja Pasha, the media report said.

At the White House, spokesman Jay Carney referred reporters to the State Department when asked if he knew the blood money had been paid.

At the State Department, deputy spokesman Mark Toner said he would go with the secretary`s statement.

I`m not an expert in Pakistani law, so I`m not comfortable discussing the legal process that took place. I understand that they signed a document that then pardoned Mr Davis, and the case is, in our mind, resolved, he explained.

I don`t think so. No, said Mr Toner when asked if the US was in direct contact with the victims` family.

We want to move on now and get to the issues that we`re working together with Pakistan on, said Mr Toner when asked what would be the impact of the release on US-Pakistan relations.

 

[M javed]

Re: Another twist: Blood money was paid by Saudi Arabia

What issues to move on.

More terrorist attacks inside Pakistan and a serious agenda of destabilising Pakistan.

 

[qamar_zaman]

Re: Another twist: Blood money was paid by Saudi Arabia

Reymond Davis left aab lakeer petnae ka kya faida asal issue yae hae kae aab jintae marzi yahan a ker koi qatal kere aor paisae dae ker choot jae

 

[samar]

Re: Another twist: Blood money was paid by Saudi Arabia

 

[aushami]

Re: Another twist: Blood money was paid by Saudi Arabia

As per Geo. It was paid by Govt of Pak from a gov fund.

 

[drkjke]

Re: Another twist: Blood money was paid by Saudi Arabia

its all propoganda to defame saudia,,actually blood money was paid by pakistani govt from our tax payers money.

 

[Abdali]

Saudi crimes against pakistan and islam.

Did US permit Saudi Arabia to invade Bahrain in return of Saudi paying "blood money" for release of CIA agent in Pakistan?
`Blood Money Was Paid By S. Arabia`
By Anwar Iqbal

March 18, 2011 "Dawn" --- WASHINGTON: Saudi Arabia is believed to have arranged the blood money that allowed CIA contractor Raymond Davis to go home after nearly two months in a Lahore jail, diplomatic sources told Dawn.
They said that the Saudis joined the efforts to resolve the dispute late last month after it became obvious that Davis`s continued incarceration could do an irreparable damage to US-Pakistan relations.
The Saudis agreed to pay the money, at least for now, to get Davis released, the sources said, but did not clarify if and how would the Saudis be reimbursed.
This is something that needs to be discussed between the United States and the Kingdom, one source said. Mr Davis`s surprise departure from Pakistan came after it became obvious that the Americans were getting impatient, he added.
The Jew York Times, however, quoted US officials as saying that the money would be paid by members of the Pakistan government, and then reimbursed by the Obama administration.
US officials, who spoke to the media, also insisted that the CIA had made no pledges to scale back covert operations in Pakistan to earn Davis`s release. The CIA also refused to give the Pakistani government or its intelligence agency a roster of American spies operating in the country, the officials said.
In an interview broadcast on Thursday by the US National Public Radio, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton did not clarify the situation either. Well, you`ll have to ask him what he means by that, said Ms Clinton when informed that Punjab`s Law Minister Rana Sanaullah was insisting that the blood money had been paid.
And a lawyer involved in the case said it was $2.34 million. There is no money that came from anywhere? she was asked.
The United States did not pay any compensation, the secretary replied. Did someone else, to your knowledge?
You will have to ask whoever you are interested in asking about that, she said.
You`re not going to talk about it? the interviewer insisted.
I have nothing to answer to that, she replied.
According to the US media, the case was resolved after Pakistani officials met family members of the victims for more than six hours on Wednesday to arrange compensation. The issue of payments was first raised with Pakistani officials by Senator John Kerry during a trip to Islamabad last month.
Since then, American and Pakistani officials had regularly discussed the matter, and CIA director Leon Panetta had spoken frequently to ISI chief Lt-Gen pupet Ahmad Shuja Pasha, the media report said.
At the White House, spokesman Jay Carney referred reporters to the State Department when asked if he knew the blood money had been paid.
At the State Department, deputy spokesman Mark Toner said he would go with the secretary`s statement.
I`m not an expert in Pakistani law, so I`m not comfortable discussing the legal process that took place. I understand that they signed a document that then pardoned Mr Davis, and the case is, in our mind, resolved, he explained.
I don`t think so. No, said Mr Toner when asked if the US was in direct contact with the victims` family.
We want to move on now and get to the issues that we`re working together with Pakistan on, said Mr Toner when asked what would be the impact of the release on US-Pakistan relations.
PAKISTANIS KEEP SLEEPING. THERE WILL BE NO PAKISTAN, IT HAS BECOME AMERIKISTAN GHUSTEE.

 

[kapadias]

Re: Another twist: Blood money was paid by Saudi Arabia

Drown attacks were almost stopped when Raymond Davis was in Pakistan's custody but as he is released, very very heavy Drown attacks are done by U.S.

Our President, P.M., Army Cheif, & C.J. all are "GADDARS"

 

[awan4ever]

Re: Another twist: Blood money was paid by Saudi Arabia

its all propoganda to defame saudia,,actually blood money was paid by pakistani govt from our tax payers money.

AS if Saudia has a good name already... :p

 

[karachiwala]

SAUDI ARABIA Denies any intervention in Raymond Davis case

 

[awan4ever]

Ofcourse they are going to deny it but every journalist in the country and every analyst has said that the Saudis were very active in the whole affair and I would rather beleiev the local press than the lying oppressive Saudi pricks!

 

[canadian]

Blood, money and sovereignty

Ameer Bhutto
Saturday, March 19, 2011



“Oh judgment thou art fled to brutish beasts, and men have lost their reason!” - Shakespeare (Julius Caesar)



Isn’t our legal system wonderful? On March 14, in the Raymond Davis immunity case hearing in the Lahore High Court, the government submitted that he had entered Pakistan on a ‘business visa’ and the court ruled that the trial court would settle the issue of immunity.

Just two days later, on March 16, the trial court set him free after payment of blood money to the heirs of the murdered boys. In these mere 48 hours, all 19 heirs of the victims were contacted (nobody knows by whom), they were ‘convinced’ to accept blood money, the amount was settled, their lawyer was fired and a new one hired, the money was paid, statements to that effect were recorded in court, the case was disposed off accordingly, Raymond Davis was freed and reportedly rushed to a waiting aircraft at Lahore airport and the heirs of the deceased were all relocated to unknown locations.

If only the system would work with the same speed for the rest of us as well. I personally know of a case in which a man convicted of murder was not released for nearly two years even after reaching a compromise with the heirs of the victim. And what about the thousands of under trial prisoners who languish in prisons for years while cases linger on without outcome? What about our citizens that are allegedly handed over, and even sold, to foreign powers?

How very nice of our government to pounce at once to implement the ruling of the trial court. It is another matter that the honourable Chief Justice and his brethren in the Supreme Court have continuously strived in vain to get the government to implement their orders and verdicts in matters of national importance, but in this case the orders of a district level trial court were implemented with lightening speed to facilitate Davis’ flight from Pakistan. But contradictions have already surfaced in the accounts of the Pakistani and American authorities.

Firstly, while the official version being peddled here is that blood money was paid to the heirs of the victims by the American authorities and the recipients of the blood money even recorded statements to that effect in court, American Secretary of State Hilary Clinton has gone on record to deny that any money was paid by the United States of America.

Her statement is corroborated by media reports to the effect that the blood money was, in fact, paid by the Pakistan government. In other words, our government paid taxpayers’ money to spring a foreign killer of Pakistani citizens from prison. This is tantamount to subsidising the murder of our citizens by foreign adventurists and is an invitation to others of Davis’ ilk to slaughter more Pakistanis. If the Pakistan government did indeed pay the blood money as reported, then that does not satisfy the religious requirements of diyat, which the murderer must pay.

Secondly, the government of Pakistan is desperately trying to distance itself from the diyat deal, but a spokesperson for the United States authorities has admitted in a press conference that they worked closely with the government of Pakistan to secure Davis’ release.

The body of Shariah Law must either be accepted or rejected in toto. It is hypocritical of western powers to reap benefits under its provisions while carrying on a full scale war against those who seek to implement the same laws in society. In any case, other questions remain unanswered. For instance, Davis’ suspicious conduct needs to be explained. What business did a man who entered Pakistan on a ‘business visa’ have in the Mozang Chongi area of Lahore? Why was this ‘businessman’ so heavily armed? Widely publicised Russian intelligence reports have claimed that Davis was passing nuclear material to the Taliban. Are these not serious enough allegations to warrant investigation? Or was there a deal on those matters too? If so, who benefited from it and what were the benefits?

The clandestine manner in which Raymond Davis was set free is another nail in the coffin of our national sovereignty. We have sunk to a new low. If anybody harboured delusions of freedom they should now lay them to rest and swallow the bitter reality pill that our power hungry rulers have reduced us to a colony of their foreign masters to cling on to power with their support. Public and national interests never enter the picture. Revolution in Tunisia was ignited by the suicide of just one man who set himself on fire due to economic hardship. Hundreds of men and women have committed suicide in Pakistan in the last few years for the same reason, but there has been no public reaction here.

By the time this article is printed it will have become clear how the public will react to this issue. The future of the country will depend on their response. Lack of adequate action on their part is bound to open even greater flood gates of oppression and humiliation that this country lacks the strength to survive.

Raymond Davis is gone. All the petitions or suo moto notices in the world will not bring him back to Pakistan. But the higher judiciary can at least probe into the facts and glaring discrepancies in this matter. And if they are going to hold the authorities responsible for any form of culpability in allowing a murderer to get away, then they must also take the government to task for allowing Pervez Musharraf to escape, with full presidential protocol no less, before he could answer charges in the Benazir Bhutto murder case.

What is the opposite of the Midas touch? Whatever it is, this government has it. Everything it does, everything it touches or meddles with, is soiled with filth and sleaze. It seems almost physically incapable of acting under the umbrella of law and sound political and moral ethics. In all its dealings there is the ever-present element of deception and corruption. That is why the democratic process of electing a government is so critical. The Kennedy family holds almost royal status in America, yet the late Senator Edward Kennedy was denied nomination by the Democratic Party to contest for the presidency in 1980, mainly because of the Chappaquiddick incident in which a young woman died, allegedly because of his negligence.

Electing leaders is a responsibility to be discharged not on emotional considerations, but on the more solid grounds of reasonable expectations of fulfilment of public and national interests. It is a decision the public must take not on the basis of services rendered to the nation by deceased leaders in the past, but on the reasonable expectations of services to be rendered by the current politicians in the future based on a close scrutiny of their past conduct. When public authority is vested in unfit hands, they can do no better than to make a mockery of all that we hold sacred. They are bound to hamstring democracy, cripple state institutions and compromise national sovereignty while raking in the loot, operating under the principle of ‘after me the deluge’.

How much longer must Pakistan suffer the consequences of the NRO deal? How much more pain and humiliation are the people willing to tolerate in silence? How can we hold our heads high after this? I have quoted the following lines from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar before and I offer no apologies for reproducing them again since they so eloquently sum up the sorry state of affairs we find ourselves in time and again:

“The fault, dear Brutus, lies not in the stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.”



The writer is vice-chairman of the Sindh National Front and a former MPA from Ratodero. He has degrees from the University of Buckingham and Cambridge University.

 

[Raaz]

It looks true , this money paid by Saudia , through Mian brothers...
Who are enjoying vacations in London ....

But everyone was on board....