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Pakistan - United States

US official in court on Pakistan murder charge

An American man working for the US consulate in Lahore is expected to appear in court on Friday on two counts of murder. Raymond Davis reportedly said he acted in self-defence when he shot dead two motorcyclists in the eastern Pakistani city on Thursday.

Reuters
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A third man was crushed to death by a consulate car in the aftermath of the shooting.

According to police, Davis described himself as a "technical adviser" with the consulate. He said he shot the two men after they drew a gun on him during an attempted robbery.

Two handguns were found close to the victims' bodies but police chief Aslam Tarin said they appeared to have no previous criminal record.

Ahmed said another murder case had been registered against unknown foreigners in the second vehicle over the death of the third man.

More than 100 people blocked the road after the incident, setting tyres on fire. They later gathered outside the police station where the American's car was impounded.

The US embassy in Islamabad confirmed the man involved was a consular worker but said they were still trying to work out what had happened. It is not clear whether he was allowed to carry a weapon.

The United States said it wanted to avoid any anti-American backlash in Pakistan, a vital ally in the US-led "war on terror".

"We want to make sure that a tragedy like this does not affect the strategic partnership that we're building with Pakistan," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said. "And we'll work as hard as we can to explain that to the Pakistani people."

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