WASHINGTON, March 9: A resolution moved in the US House of Representatives urges Pakistan to release Raymond Davis or brace itself for a freeze on all monetary assistance. Congress is scheduled to deliberate on US aid to Pakistan later this month. “The House of Representatives calls on the government of Pakistan to release Raymond Davis in accordance with international standards of diplomatic protocol and, until such time, all US monetary assistance to Pakistan should be frozen,” says the resolution, moved by Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, a California Republican.

The resolution has been referred to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, which is now controlled by the Republicans.

“Pakistan must also do more to meet pressing US concerns, including the release of Raymond Davis, our detained American diplomat,” says the committee's chairperson Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, however, opposes cutting aid to Pakistan, warning that doing so would hurt US interests.

The resolution sent to the committee says that Mr Davis was “attacked by two armed men in Lahore” and “killed both men in self-defence”, a point disputed by Pakistani officials.

It acknowledges that Mr Davis is a “US veteran and former Special Forces soldier” but does not mention his links to the CIA, already confirmed by the US media.

Instead, the resolution recalls that President Barack Obama called Mr Davis “our diplomat” and urged “Pakistan . . . [to recognise] Mr Davis as a diplomat”. It notes that Pakistan is among the world's leading recipients of US aid, receiving more than $10.7 billion between 2001 and 2010, which included $6 billion in development and humanitarian aid.

The resolution also refers to a statement by US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, claiming that “the ISI's contacts with some extremist groups are a real concern for us”.

It recalls that former US commander in Afghanistan General Stanley McChrystal accused “ISI elements of materially aiding insurgent groups that attack coalition forces in Afghanistan”.