US "will cooperate fully" with Pak probe into consulate worker killing two in Lahore

Washington, Jan 28(ANI): The United States will 'cooperate fully' with the Pakistani investigation into the killing of two Pakistani men by a US consulate worker in Lahore, Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Philip J Crowley has said.

"I can confirm that an employee at the U.S. Consulate in Lahore was involved in an incident today. It is under investigation. We have not released the identity of our employee at this point. And reports of a particular identity that are circulating through the media are incorrect," Crowley told reporters during a press briefing.

When asked if the accused, being an employee of the consulate, had diplomatic immunity, Crowley said he was "going to leave it there for the moment. As we are able to share greater details with you, we will."

He also confirmed that the accused was a US national and civilian employee with the US consulate, and maintained that the matter was "under investigation, and we'll let the investigation work its course."

On being questioned whether the US, Pakistan or both were investigating the matter, Crowley replied: "Well, this happened within Pakistan. There's a Pakistani investigation. We will cooperate fully."

For further queries on the issue, Crowley said, he would "rather have you direct the questions to the Embassy in Islamabad. They've got, obviously, much more up-to-the-minute situational awareness than I do."

"All I can tell you is that the individual is still in Pakistan," he concluded.

On Thursday, three people were killed when an American national opened fire on two motorcycle riders and hit another with his car in an attempt to escape from the scene at Mazang Chowk in Lahore. (ANI)