Shakil Afridi. PHOTO: FILE
PESHAWAR: Days after a doctor, accused of helping the Americans in tracking down the then al Qaeda suprmeo Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, was transferred to a ‘safe location’ from Peshawar, a man has approached the court to restrain the government from handing over the suspect to the US.
A two-judge bench of the Peshawar High Court (PHC), comprising Chief Justice Yahya Afridi and Muhammad Ayub Khan, on Thursday heard a petition filed by advocate Muhammad Khurshid.
In his petition, Khurshid pointed to rumours that the recent move by the government to shift Dr Shakil Afridi from the Peshawar prison could be a prelude to his release into US custody.
“There are reports that Dr Afridi has been shifted from the Peshawar prison with the aim of handing him over to the Americans,” contended Khurshid, a senior advocate.
The lawyer added that any such move would be against Pakistani laws since Dr Afridi had reportedly worked against the state, and hence he should be punished according to the laws of the country rather than handing him over to the Americans.
The lawyer stated in his petition that soon after bin Laden was killed in a May 2011 raid by US forces in Abbottabad, Dr Afridi had been found guilty of contributing to the success of the CIA operation in Pakistan by collecting DNA samples of bin Laden's family.
“Dr Afridi has committed a grave violation of country’s laws and a tribunal has already found him guilty so, he does not deserve any leniency,” Khurshid told the court.
The court subsequently issued a notice to the federal interior secretary to file a response in the case by the next hearing.
Dr Shakil Afridi had been sentenced to 33 years in prison while a fine of Rs320,000 was imposed by a four-member Federally Administered Tribal Area (Fata) tribunal headed by the assistant political agent of Bara in Khyber Agency on five different charges. After an appeal in 2014, a one-man tribunal reduced his jail term from 33 to 23 years.
Imprisoned at the Peshawar prison for several years, he was reportedly moved out of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa last week.
The move gave rise to rumours that the government was planning to hand him over to the Americans. However, the move was vehemently denied by the Foreign Office on Thursday.
“Not aware of any deal regarding Dr Afridi,” stated the Foreign Office Spokesperson Mohammad Faisal.
The continued imprisonment of Dr Afridi has long been a source of tension between Pakistan and the United States. It prompted the latter to cut military aid over accusations that Pakistan continues to shelter Taliban militants fighting the US and Afghan soldiers across the border in Afghanistan.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 4th, 2018.
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