A court has delayed charging a CIA contractor in connection with the shooting deaths of two Pakistanis.

A lawyer for families of the dead men said Tuesday the next trial court hearing would be March 16, when contractor Raymond Allen Davis may be charged.

On March 14, the Pakistani government is scheduled to tell the Lahore High Court whether Davis has diplomatic immunity from prosecution as the United States insists.

The American's lawyer has said if Pakistan determines he has immunity Davis will likely walk free soon after.

Davis says he shot the two men in self-defense as they tried to rob him in late January.

The case has strained U.S.-Pakistan ties. The countries' alliance is considered key to ending the Afghan war.