NYT
U.S. Official May Face Murder Charges in Pakistan
By ZAHID HUSSAIN
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan--A U.S official who shot dead two armed men was remanded in police custody Friday for six days, as Pakistani authorities said the American will face investigation over allegations of murder.
The official, Raymond Davis, a security official at the U.S consulate in Lahore, appeared before a judge under heavy security.
Scores of armed police were deployed outside the court to prevent violent protests against the shootings, which have sparked anti-American sentiment.
Journalists were not allowed in the courtroom.
Mr. Davis, who was driving his car after taking out some cash from an ATM in Lahore, shot and killed two armed men on a motorbike Thursday, after they allegedly tried to intercept his vehicle on a crowded street.
He later told police that he fired in self-defense.
A pedestrian also was crushed to death by a U.S. consulate vehicle that came to rescue Mr. Davis, who was being chased by a crowd.
Rana Sanaullah, the law minister of Punjab province of which Lahore is the capital, said police were investigating whether to charge Mr. Davis with murder and for possessing illegal weapons.
Mr. Davis has not been formally charged and it remained unclear whether he was covered by diplomatic immunity from prosecution.
"He will face trial under Pakistani laws," Mr. Sanaullah told a televised media conference.
Mr. Sanaullah said Mr. Davis was in the country on a short-stay visa and had made several trips to Pakistan in the past.
Police also registered a murder case against an unidentified person driving the second consulate vehicle. Mr. Sanaullah said the U.S. consulate has agreed to surrender the person, who was not detained by police, by Friday evening.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik said Friday that diplomats were not allowed to carry weapons in Pakistan. 
The incident triggered protests, with scores of people chanting anti-American slogans Thursday night and burning tires and blocking roads in Lahore, Pakistan's second-largest city.
The protesters called for Mr. Davis to be tried for murder.
A U.S embassy statement Friday confirmed a staff member of the U.S consulate in Lahore was involved in an incident that lead to a loss of life, but it did not name the official.
It said the U.S embassy was working with Pakistani authorities to determine the facts and work towards a resolution.
Mr. Davis has been named by Pakistani officials.
The incident also has intensified anti-American rhetoric in a section of Pakistan's media.
A report published in English language newspaper Dawn, quoting an unnamed Pakistan senior police officer said Mr. Davis also was detained by Pakistani security personnel in December 2009 for allegedly carrying weapons in a car in Lahore.
The report could not be verified independently.
