Pakistan denies any deal with US to hand over doctor who helped track Bin Laden

Says decision to move Shakeel Afridi to Adiala jail was taken by interior ministry

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday categorically stated that Dr Shakil Afridi, who helped the CIA track down Osama bin Laden, was not being handed over to the United States.

“On behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I can assure you that he is not being handed over to the US,” Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Muhammad Faisal told reporters at the weekly briefing.

His reaction came in response to recent reports that Shakil Afridi might soon be released. There were also reports doing the rounds that Pakistan and the US were contemplating repatriation of Dr Aafia Siddiqui in exchange for the release of Afridi.

When asked to comment on the reports and possible deal, Faisal replied: “I am not aware of any deal regarding Dr Shakil Afridi.”

He also said the interior ministry was looking into reports suggesting that the US might be contemplating a jailbreak to rescue Afridi.

Afridi was arrested soon after bin Laden was killed in a secret US raid in Abbottabad. Afridi conducted a fake vaccination drive on behalf of the CIA to track down the Al Qaeda leader.



Track II diplomacy

The spokesperson said the recent Track II dialogue between Pakistan and India did not have any link with the formal resumption of talks.

“Regarding Track II initiatives, they do take place from time to time. Usually, former ambassadors, retired government officials, journalists and the people from academia of both countries take part. They do not have any link with the formal dialogue,” he explained.

The Track II process meeting held after a gap of seven years and raised hopes that this might lead to some kind of engagement between the two neighbours.

The spokesperson also clarified that the two countries resolved the issue of harassment of diplomats through negotiations between their foreign offices and diplomatic missions and not through Track II.

“It is a success for formal diplomacy,” Dr Faisal insisted.



Iran deal

Amid reports that the US might pull out of the landmark nuclear deal with Iran, the spokesperson said, “Pakistan believes that the JCPOA represents a very good example of a negotiated settlement to complex issues.”

“We fully support the agreement and call upon all parties to continue to honour their commitments, pursuant to the agreement.

“All countries should trust the competence of the IAEA to provide assurances regarding the implementation of the agreement,” he said.