Pakistan plans charges against American

LAHORE, Pakistan – Pakistan will pursue murder charges against a U.S. consular employee suspected of shooting two armed men during a possible robbery attempt, a prosecutor said Friday as protesters called for the American to be severely punished.

The killings in this bustling city on Thursday have attracted intense media coverage in Pakistan, and the government – already viewed by some critics as being subservient to the United States – will be under pressure to allow the law to run its course.

Many Pakistanis already regard the U.S. with suspicion or enmity because of its occupation of neighboring Afghanistan and regular missile attacks against militant targets in Pakistan’s northwest. Islamist and right-wing opponents of Washington and the U.S.-allied government here said the incident was a further example of American brutality.

In a sign of the political sensitivities surrounding the case, Interior Minister Rehman Malik was asked by a lawmaker in parliament whether he was trying to set the American free. “I will never abet a criminal,” replied Malik.

A third Pakistani was killed following the shootings when he was hit by a U.S. vehicle rushing to aid the American, who was also in a car, according to police. Officers have said the driver of that car could also face charges.

Police officer Umar Saeed said the American, who has not been named by U.S. authorities, had told officers he had withdrawn money from an ATM shortly before the incident and was acting in self-defense. Other Pakistani officers have said the men were likely robbers, were on a motorbike and both were carrying pistols.

Rana Bakhtiar, deputy prosecutor general for Punjab, said the state would pursue murder charges.

“He has killed two men. A case is registered against him on murder charges,” he said.

Although the U.S. Embassy has not said what position the man held at the consulate in Lahore or why he was armed, the U.S. is claiming that the man holds immunity.