Pakistan Islamists issue warning over US prisoner

An influential Pakistani Islamist party accused the United States on Tuesday of riding roughshod in the case of a U.S. consular employee held over the killing of two Pakistanis and said it would hold protests if he is freed.

Raymond Davis was arrested after shooting two Pakistanis in what he called self defense during an armed robbery attempt and what Lahore's police chief called "clear-cut murder".

The United States is piling pressure on Pakistan to release Davis, saying his arrest was a violation of international conventions because he has diplomatic immunity.

Pakistan says the matter will be decided by its courts.

The issue has become a lightning rod for anti-American sentiment in Pakistan, which the United States counts as an important, if unreliable, ally in its war against militants that launch attacks against its soldiers in Afghanistan.

Jamaat-e-Islami, a religious and political party capable of organizing large protests, accused the United States of exerting "unprincipled and unlawful" pressure on Pakistan.

"Why is America hell bent on trampling on Pakistani law and its judicial system? We will forcefully protest if he is released without a court order," Jamaat-e-Islami deputy chief Liaquat Baluch told Reuters.

Jamaat-e-Islami and other religious parties don't win many votes in elections. But the government can't afford to ignore the groups who often seize on sensitive issues concerning the United States to promote their cause.

"Of course he (Davis) should not be released. He has committed a crime and he should be punished. He doesn't have immunity," said Yahya Mujhaid, a spokesman for Jamaat-ud-Dawa, which was blacklisted by the U.N. over its links to the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant group blamed for the 2008 attack on Mumbai. It denies it has links to the LeT.

"If he is released, we will register our protest but in a peaceful way. We will hold rallies. He should not be released. Not only us, the whole of Pakistan will protest against any such move."

Some members of the Pakistani media, which has in the past accused U.S. aid workers of being spies, have also called for Davis to be put on trial in Pakistan.

Supporters of the men Davis shot dead in the city of Lahore on Jan. 27 have already held protests and burned U.S. flags.

Davis has been detained on remand since the incident.

On Thursday, the United States is expected to present a petition to a Lahore court to certify that Davis has diplomatic immunity and should be released.

Cash-strapped Pakistan is one of the largest non-NATO recipients of American military aid. But it is constantly battling the public perception that it is a U.S. puppet so has to tread cautiously.

In addition to the two men shot and killed by Davis, a third man was killed when a vehicle from the U.S. consulate, apparently en route to rescue Davis, struck and killed a passer-by.

Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said the provincial government sent the U.S. consulate four reminders that it should hand over the car and the driver who "crushed to death" the man, identified as Ibad-ur-Rehman.

"We did not have any positive response from them after which on Saturday we wrote a letter to the federal government and asked them to talk to the U.S. embassy and ask them to cooperate on the issue so that the investigation into the case can be completed," Sanaullah said.