US diplomat arrested in Lahore for murder

The United States Saturday called for the immediate release of one of its diplomats that it was detained by Pakistani authorities in Lahore for murder.

The man, named as Raymond Davis and described by the US State Department as an American civilian working for the US consulate in Lahore, was held at a police station on two murder charges over the deaths of two motorcyclists.

"When detained, the US diplomat identified himself to police as a diplomat and repeatedly requested immunity under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations," the US embassy in Islamabad said in a statement.

It added, "local police and senior authorities failed to observe their legal obligation to verify his status with either the US consulate general in Lahore or the US embassy in Islamabad."

Rana Bakhtiar, the prosecutor at the Lahore court, told Reuters on Friday that Davis had told the court he acted in self-defence and "wants to apologize."

Davis has yet to be charged, but Bakhtiar said the initial police report listed murder charges against him.

Davis told police that he was chased by the two men Thursday soon after he withdrew money from a cash machine. The men approached him when he pulled over at a traffic signal and pointed a gun at him.

Davis then fired at the men, a police official said. A third Pakistani was crushed to death by a consulate car that went to help Davis following the shooting in a busy street in the eastern city Thursday.