Faisalabad - Shumaila the wife of Fahim, one of the Pakistani men shot and killed by Raymond Davis on Jan.27, committed suicide by eating poisonous pills on Sunday.
Ali Naqi, a doctor in Allied Hospital Faisalabad treating Shumaila, said she told him she took poison because she believed her husband’s killer would be freed without trial. She was brought to hospital in crucial condition and her situation continued deteriorating despite doctors’ best efforts to save her life.
The US has demanded Pakistani authorities release the Raymond Davis, saying he shot and killed two armed men in self-defense when they attempted to rob him as he drove his car in the eastern city of Lahore. He was arrested on Jan. 27, and the U.S. has said he has diplomatic immunity and is being illegally detained.
The shootings have stoked anti-American sentiment in Pakistan, feelings that could be further inflamed by Shumaila Kanwal’s suicide. She died several hours after being rushed to a hospital, said Ali Naqi, the doctor in Faisalabad city who treated her.
“I do not expect any justice from this government,” said Shumaila in her last statement aired by Duniya TV before she died. “That is why I want to kill myself.”
Shumaila also spoke to reporters after arriving at the hospital, saying “I want blood for blood.”
Ali Naqi, a doctor in Allied Hospital Faisalabad treating Shumaila, said she told him she took poison because she believed her husband’s killer would be freed without trial. She was brought to hospital in crucial condition and her situation continued deteriorating despite doctors’ best efforts to save her life.
The US has demanded Pakistani authorities release the Raymond Davis, saying he shot and killed two armed men in self-defense when they attempted to rob him as he drove his car in the eastern city of Lahore. He was arrested on Jan. 27, and the U.S. has said he has diplomatic immunity and is being illegally detained.
The shootings have stoked anti-American sentiment in Pakistan, feelings that could be further inflamed by Shumaila Kanwal’s suicide. She died several hours after being rushed to a hospital, said Ali Naqi, the doctor in Faisalabad city who treated her.
“I do not expect any justice from this government,” said Shumaila in her last statement aired by Duniya TV before she died. “That is why I want to kill myself.”
Shumaila also spoke to reporters after arriving at the hospital, saying “I want blood for blood.”
“The way my husband was shot, his killer should be shot in the same fashion,” she said.
The case puts Pakistan’s government in a difficult position. The government relies on the U.S. for billions of dollars in aid but is wary of being seen as doing Washington’s bidding. The U.S. is widely unpopular in Pakistan, in part because of its undeclared campaign of drone missile strikes along the northwest border with Afghanistan.
The government could face charges of being an American lackey if it hands Raymond Davis over to the United States; but refusing to do so will risk harming a relationship with a vital ally.
Pakistani officials have avoided definitive statements on Davis’ level of diplomatic clearance and whether he
qualifies for immunity.
Federal officials have said the decision on his fate is up to courts in Punjab province, where the shootings occurred. But provincial officials have said the federal government must decide whether Davis has immunity. The two governments are controlled by rival political parties, which have further complicated the case.
Besides the two men who were shot dead, a bystander was also killed when he was struck by an American car rushing to the scene to help Davis. Police have said they want to question the Americans suspected in that death as well.
Relatives of the men who were allegedly shot by Davis have participated in several protests in Lahore, including one Thursday outside the U.S. consulate where demonstrators shouted “Hang the American killer!”
Federal officials have said the decision on his fate is up to courts in Punjab province, where the shootings occurred. But provincial officials have said the federal government must decide whether Davis has immunity. The two governments are controlled by rival political parties, which have further complicated the case.
Besides the two men who were shot dead, a bystander was also killed when he was struck by an American car rushing to the scene to help Davis. Police have said they want to question the Americans suspected in that death as well.
Relatives of the men who were allegedly shot by Davis have participated in several protests in Lahore, including one Thursday outside the U.S. consulate where demonstrators shouted “Hang the American killer!”
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