Islamabad: The spokesperson for the
ruling Pakistan People's Party on Sunday resigned just days after
she contended that a US official arrested for gunning down two
men was entitled to diplomatic immunity.
PPP information secretary Fauzia Wahab told the media
in Karachi that she had resigned from the post in the wake of
her comments that arrested US official Raymond Davis had
immunity like other foreign diplomats.
Wahab said her statements were her personal views and
did not reflect the policy of the PPP.
She said that she had held the position during a
critical phase and would continue to work for the PPP.
She had triggered a controversy when she told a news
conference in Karachi on Monday that Davis had a diplomatic
visa and could neither be arrested nor kept in custody.
Reports said Wahab would be replaced as spokesman by
former Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira.
Islamabad's ties with Washington have been strained
since Davis was arrested in Lahore on January 27 after
shooting and killing two armed men he said were trying to rob
him.
The Pakistan government has turned down several US
demands for Davis to be released on grounds of diplomatic
immunity.
The PPP also decided not to reallocate the foreign
affairs portfolio to Shah Mahmood Qureshi in a recent cabinet
reshuffle after he took the stand that Davis is not entitled
to blanket immunity.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, February 20, 2011, 10:41