Pakistan holds US consulate worker, Raymond Davis, over shootings

A U.S. consulate employee who allegedly killed two Pakistani men will be held for eight more days, a prosecutor said Thursday, despite U.S. insistence the man has diplomatic immunity.

Raymond Davis, described in initial reports as a security officer at the Lahore consulate, claims he shot the two men in self-defense as they were trying to rob him.

A third Pakistani was reportedly killed by a U.S. consulate vehicle as it rushed to the aid of Davis after he apparently called the mission for help.

The case has heightened tensions in Pakistan, with anti-U.S. Islamist groups demanding the Pakistani government resists U.S. calls to free Davis. Anti-American sentiments already run deep, owing to U.S. drone strikes in the tribal areas, the war in Afghanistan, and the government’s alliance with the U.S.

The U.S. has said Davis is a diplomat and has called for his immediate release.

He was arrested a week ago and has admitted to shooting the two motorcyclists in Lahore.

The Lahore High Court on Tuesday barred the government from handing him over to Washington, saying it would decide whether he had diplomatic immunity or not.

Amid tight security, police brought Davis in an armored car to appear before a magistrate in Lahore Thursday. Journalists were barred from the proceedings.

"The police officials told the court that investigations have not yet been completed. The judge extended the remand [detention] for eight more days," Abdul Samad, a deputy prosecutor general at the high court told Reuters.