Just when you thought the US could not possibly destabilize its tenuous relationship with Pakistan more than it already has...
An American "consular employee" shot and killed two Pakistani citizens in Lahore on Thursday, January 27. The employee, whose role with the diplomatic corps has not been disclosed, has claimed the men were attempting to rob him. A third Pakistani citizen was struck and killed by the employee's colleagues as they sped in their car to assist him.
Little is known about the employee, identified by the BBC as Raymond Davis, or his duties in Pakistan. He did not have diplomatic immunity, and he was not authorized to carry a gun for security. Even more puzzling is that, while most consular employees in Lahore travel with guards, Mr. Davis traveled alone on Thursday--although he alleges that he had just withdrawn money at an ATM when the shooting occurred.
Added up, the circumstances do not paint a favorable portrait of either Davis' or America's motives in Lahore. Despite the fact that we are using Pakistan to stage our attacks on the Taliban and other militant groups, the US has shown itself to be singularly callous as regards Pakistani civilians. By conservative estimates, 1,100 people were killed by drone strikes in northern Pakistan between August 2008 and September 2010. Many of those casualties were civilians.
The US Embassy has "denounced" the killings with the customary diplomatic palaver, affirming that an employee of the consulate "was involved in an incident yesterday that regrettably resulted in the loss of life."
This lukewarm rhetoric will probably be insufficient to cool the heating tensions bewteen Pakistanis and Americans in Lahore; to the contrary, it will likely add nothing but insult to injury. Curiously enough, while the BBC has identified the American, the AP maintains that he is an "unnamed consular employee."
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