Report: Saudi Arabia Paid Raymond Davis’ ‘Blood Money’

Other Reports Suggested Pakistani Officials Paid the Money

The Wednesday release of CIA contractor Raymond Davis came after the payment of $2.34 million in Diyat (blood money) to the legal heirs of the two people he killed on the streets of Lahore. The real mystery, however, is where that money came from, as US officials denied paying it.

Some reports had Pakistani government officials fronting the money, with a secret pledge that it would be funneled back to them by the Obama Administration at some point in the future.

But the latest report seems to be that the Saudi Arabian government actually paid the money in an attempt to rescue the US-Pakistani relationship. The payment was said to be temporary, however, and again reimbursement by the US is expected at some point in the future.

The Davis “blood money” payment has been controversial in Pakistan as a way of the US buying its way out of trouble, but may also be controversial within the US, as presumably whenever that money is reimbursed it will be in taxpayer dollars.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.