American held in Pakistan for murder is CIA agent

Raymond Davis, the American who fatally shot two men in Pakistan last month and who has been described publicly as a diplomat, is a security contractor for the CIA who was part of a secret agency team operating out of a safe house in Lahore, U.S. officials said.

But despite the revelation, reported in the Washington Post, Pakistan's prime minister has vowed to safeguard his country's sovereignty and dignity and continue holding Davis, who is facing a double murder charge.

"We are firmly resolved to adopt a course that accords with the dictates of justice and the rule of law. … My government will not compromise on Pakistan's sovereignty and dignity," Yousaf Raza Gilani told Parliament after receiving a phone call from the U.S. secretary of state, Hilary Clinton.

The Obama administration is exerting pressure on Pakistan to release Davis, a 36-year-old former special forces soldier, saying he is a "technical and administrative official" who enjoys immunity under the Vienna convention. U.S. President Barack Obama called him "our diplomat in Pakistan."

In fact, The Post reports, Davis has spent much of the past two years working as part of a group of covert CIA operatives, whose mission appears to have centered on conducting surveillance of militant groups in large cities including Lahore.

At the time of his arrest on Jan. 27, Davis was based at a house with five other CIA contractors as well as a former agency staff officer who had returned to work for the spy service for the assignment in Pakistan, a U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

The official said the disclosure that Davis was a CIA agent would complicate the case. "I think it's going to make it a hell of a lot harder to get him out," said the official. "I think ISI knows what this guy is, but I think this is just going to inflame the Pakistanis."

The ISI is the acronym for Pakistan's powerful spy service, the Inter-Services Intelligence directorate. 

President Asif Ali Zardari's government, faced with public outrage over the matter, has said it cannot decide on the immunity question until March 14.

The postponed ruling has rattled the strategic relationship between Pakistan and the United States. The White House last week postponed a meeting of Afghan, Pakistani and American officials planned for this week in Washington, and Congress is threatening cuts in funding to Pakistan, the recipient of billions of dollars in U.S. economic and military aid.

The Washington Post said it learned of Davis' CIA affiliation after his arrest, but agreed not to publish the information at the request of senior U.S. intelligence officials, who cited concern for Davis' safety if his true employment status were disclosed.