Raymond Davis releases memoir on 2011 killings, diplomatic row in Pakistan

Raymond Davis — the CIA operative who sparked a diplomatic row after gunning down two men on the streets of Lahore in January 2011 – has penned his side of the story for the first time in a memoir titled 'The Contractor: How I Landed in a Pakistani Prison and Ignited a Diplomatic Crisis'.

According to Davis, John Kerry, Nawaz Sharif, Asif Zardari, former ISI chief Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha and Husain Haqqani helped in his release from the Kot Lakhpat Jail.

Apart from the ISI chief, several other officials of the intelligence agency were present in the court at the time of his release.

Davis says no one was more helpful than Gen Pasha in his release in Pakistan. Gen Pasha, who was in Lahore’s sessions court, had a mobile phone in his hand through which he was updating the then US ambassador, Cameron Munter, about the court hearing.

He says Kerry’s meeting with Nawaz paved the way for his release after which Gen Pasha was given extension.

Davis became the centre of controversy in Pakistan moments after local police registered a case against him on charges of killing two Pakistani men at Qurtaba Chowk in downtown Lahore. A third Pakistani man was struck and killed by a vehicle that was reportedly racing to Davis' aid.

The violent confrontation escalated into a diplomatic crisis, making front-page headlines across the world and straining ties between Islamabad and Washington, as US policymakers pressed for diplomatic immunity for Davis and pushed for his immediate release.

According to an Amazon.com introduction, the book — released on June 27, 2017 — offers "an up-close and personal look at the 2011 incident in Lahore, Pakistan, that led to his imprisonment and the events that took place as diplomats on both sides of the bargaining table scrambled to get him out".

A former soldier, Davis had experience with the US Special Forces and ran a small security company, according to public US records.

US officials never released details about Davis' precise job in Pakistan, saying only he was a "member of the administrative and technical staff" of the Islamabad embassy and traveled on a diplomatic passport.

The CIA contractor spent 49 days in Pakistani custody, and was released on March 16, 2011 after the families of the two slain men reached an agreement and were paid $2.4 million in blood money. The Lahore High Court acquitted him on all charges and Davis was flown out of Pakistan.