Raymond Davis reveals hidden facts of 2011 diplomatic crisis in tell-all memoir

KARACHI: Former Central Intelligence Agency employee Raymond Davis, who shot dead two men in Lahore in 2011, and sparked a diplomatic crisis with the United States, has released a tell-all memoir about his experience.

The book titled “The Contractor: How I Landed in a Pakistani Prison and Ignited a Diplomatic Crisis,” tell the side of the story of the man at the centre of the controversy. Davis offers an up-close and personal look at the incident that led to his imprisonment and the events that took place as diplomats on both sides of the bargaining table scrambled to get him out.

On January 27, 2011, Davis was arrested for murder of two men, Faizan and Faheem, near Mozang Chowk in Lahore. A case was registered at the Lytton Police Station after he was chased by the Police.

Davis said that he acted in self-defence and the men shot were robbers who had been arrested more than fifty times on various charges and were carrying stolen mobile phones and unlicensed guns.

This created a diplomatic standoff as the US pressed for diplomatic immunity for Davis. The matter was settled after Davis was pardoned for blood money worth $2.4mn which is the largest in the history of Pakistan.

Davis was released on March 16, 2011 and quickly flown out of Pakistan after the heirs of the two men he had shot dead told the Lahore High Court they had accepted monetary compensation to settle the case.

Davis reveals that he later found out that the plan to secure his release had been hatched several weeks before. He discloses the names of the top government and state institutions’ officials playing pivotal role his getting released from the Lahore prison.

Davis writes the relations between the intelligence agencies of the two countries were already distraught after Leon Panetta was surprisingly appointed as Director of CIA and the incident further escalated the tensions.

Davis claims that his book had been approved by the CIA after major redaction, which delayed it by more than a year. He said the top US military leadership had a secret meeting in Muscat, Oman to secure his release.

Raymond Davis was released after forty-nine days. The incident led to widespread protests in Pakistan demanding action against Davis. Almost a month after the incident, Us officials revealed Davis was a contractor for the CIA.