A CIA contractor indicted earlier in the day on two murder charges in Pakistan has been acquitted and released after a deal to pay "blood money" to the victims' families was reached, Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah told Reuters.
Raymond Davis (36) shot dead two Pakistanis in the eastern Punjab city on January 27th following what he claimed was an attempted armed robbery. He said he acted in self-defence and the United States claimed he had diplomatic immunity and should be repatriated.
The deal ends a long-simmering diplomatic standoff between Pakistan and the United States.
"The court first indicted him but the families later told court that they have accepted the blood money and they have pardoned him," Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah told Reuters. "The court acquitted him in the murder case."
The court formally charged the CIA contractor on two counts of murder at a hearing held at a prison in Lahore this morning.
Had he been convicted, he may have faced the death penalty.
The case tested ties between the United States and Pakistan, a vital ally in the US-led campaign against Taliban militants in Afghanistan.
Questions surrounded the identity of the victims, with some media reports saying the men worked for Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, and that they might have been known to Mr Davis.
Other reports suggested they were armed robbers who had already targeted others in Lahore before attempting to rob Mr Davis, tailing him on motor bikes along a congested city road.
The case has also strained ties between the CIA and Pakistan's main Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, which said it was unaware Mr Davis was working in Pakistan.
There was mounting speculation this morning that the United States might back payment to the victims' families of compensation.
Such payments are sanctioned by Islamic law and are common in some parts of rural Pakistan as a way to settle disputes.
Reuters