LAHORE, Pakistan, Feb. 23 (UPI) -- The U.S.-Pakistani dispute over Islamabad's detention of an American diplomat has widened with the disclosure the man was a CIA contractor.
Raymond Davis is being held in Pakistan in the Jan. 27 shooting deaths of two Pakistani men Davis has said were in self-defense as he thought they were going to rob him.
While Pakistani protesters want him tried for murder, the United States insists Davis is a diplomat and should be released immediately under diplomatic immunity privileges.
On Monday U.S. officials said Davis was a Central Intelligence Agency contractor not involved in spying.
However, that has only helped further complicated the issue between the two countries, CNN reported.
"Raymond Davis is a CIA Guy," CNN quoted a headline in Pakistan's Daily Times newspaper as saying.
Another newspaper quoted a police official as saying Davis was instrumental in recruiting young Pakistanis for the Pakistani Taliban to fuel insurgency, but did not say what evidence police had to make that claim.
U.S. officials say Pakistan has no right to hold Davis as he has diplomatic immunity. They say that is supported by their January 2010 notification posting him to the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad and assert the maximum Pakistan can do is to expel him.
Separately, China's Xinhua news agency, quoting officials, said Wednesday the "American undercover CIA agent" facing double murder charges in Pakistan, went on hunger strike in his Lahore prison to protest "substandard food" and demanding the removal of security cameras.
Xinhua said Davis refused to eat when food was given to him at lunchtime, although prison officials told him the food was being provided by the U.S. consulate.
The report said jail authorities refused Davis's demand for removal of security cameras, saying they had been installed for his own security.
The Lahore high court has given the Pakistani Foreign Ministry time to determine Davis's diplomatic status.
