'Mishandling of Davis case made Pakistan laughing stock'

The release of CIA security contractor Raymond Davis, who killed two people in Lahore and paid "blood money" to their kin to escape trial, made Pakistan a laughing stock before the world, an opposition leader has said.

The release of CIA security contractor Raymond Davis, who killed two people in Lahore and paid "blood money" to their kin to escape trial, made Pakistan a laughing stock before the world, an opposition leader has said.

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Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, leader of the opposition in the National Assembly and member of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), told Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani that his party did not agree to the method used to release Davis.

"Nowhere in my conversation with the prime minister did I express confidence in the court verdict on Davis," he told The News International.

Davis, 36, shot dead two Pakistanis on a motorcycle in Lahore Jan 27 in what he described as an attempted armed robbery. He claimed he acted in self-defence.

A court in Lahore acquitted him after he reportedly paid "blood money" in terms of Islamic compensation law to the kin of the dead.

Khan said the way the Davis case was handled by the government and other agencies made Pakistan a laughing stock in front of the world. It was also "highly controversial", he said.

The opposition leader will leave for London on Wednesday to inquire about the health of party chief Nawaz Sharif, who was admitted to hospital for heart ailments.