Bin Laden informer: Dr Shakil Afridi sacked

Health department issues notification for Afridi's termination for his involvement in anti-state activities.

PESHAWAR: Dr Shakil Afridi, the doctor who provided vital information to the US to help track down Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, was terminated from his job by the health department on Thursday.

The health department issued a notification in this regard, which said that Afridi has been terminated under the Efficiency & Disciplinary (E&D) Rules for being involved in anti-state activities.

Prior to this 15 lady health workers who were part of the vaccination campaign were also terminated from their jobs.

Last year, British newspaper The Guardian reported that the CIA launched a fake vaccination drive in Abbottabad to gather the DNA information of Bin Laden’s family. It said that Khyber Agency Surgeon Dr Afridi, under the pretext of a private polio vaccination campaign, launched a CIA programme to trace the al Qaeda leader in Abbottabad.

Action was initiated against him and some other provincial health department officials for running a fake polio vaccine campaign.