Hafiz Saeed demands 'stern punishment' for Davis

Outlawed Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Mohammed Saeed demanded "stern punishment" according to Pakistan's constitution for US official Raymond Davis, arrested for shooting and killing two men.

Addressing a large gathering of JuD activists at Qadsia Masjid in the group's office at Chauburji, Saeed said since the arrest of Davis, there had been no US drone attacks in Pakistan's tribal belt bordering Afghanistan. "This is the right time to get united against the US and we should not allow the government to set the American free," said Saeed, the founder of the banned Lashkar-e-Tayiba terror group that carried out the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

Saeed claimed "intervention" by the US, India and Israel in Pakistan was on

the rise. He demanded that the country's rulers should avoid putting national interests at stake for "dollars and personal interests".

The JuD activists later staged a protest at Chauburji Chowk to condemn the death of three Pakistanis in the incidentinvolving Davis. Holding banners and placards with anti-US slogans, the activists said no leniency should be shown to Davis.

They warned the government to stop talking about immunity for Davis and to deal with the matter according to law. Davis shot and killed two armed men he said were trying to rob him. A third Pakistani died when he was hit by a US consulate vehicle rushing to aid Davis. The JuD has been at the forefront of protests by religious and extremist groups against Davis.