Abbottabad raid: Commission bars Dr Afridi, others from foreign travel
All people related to the incident will require clearance from the panel to leave Pakistan.
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistani citizens, including a doctor, who helped the US track down slain al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden have been barred from leaving the country without official permission.
The ban has been imposed by a judicial panel, headed by Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal, which has been tasked to investigate the May 2 US raid that killed Bin Laden in Abbottabad.
The restriction has reinforced the position of the Pakistani government, which has reportedly been resisting US pressure to release Dr Shakeel Afridi and his accomplices so that they can be given sanctuary in the US.
“The commission has imposed a ban on foreign travel for all persons related to the Abbottabad incident, including Dr Afridi, till further orders. No such person should be allowed to leave the country without clearance from the commission,” said a short statement issued on Tuesday.
The terms of reference of the commission are to ascertain the facts regarding Bin Laden’s prolonged presence in Pakistan, investigate the circumstances and facts surrounding the US operation, determine the nature, background and causes of lapses on part of the responsible authorities, if any, and make consequential recommendations.
The commission is authorised to summon anyone within Pakistan, including officials of powerful secret agencies, military and civilian authorities, and has already called various officials, mainly from military authorities.
On July 5, the commission had directed Pakistani authorities, including secret agencies, to disallow Bin Laden’s family from leaving the country without the commission’s permission. The family is believed to be in the custody of Pakistani intelligence agencies.
Soon after the US secret operation, the Inter Services Intelligence agency (ISI) busted a network of Pakistanis who were working for hunting down Bin Laden in connivance with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Dr Afridi and over a dozen others in the network were taken into custody in the weeks following the US operation. They are still under custody of Pakistani agencies.
The doctor and his collaborators had been recruited by the CIA, under the pretext of vaccinating residents for Hepatitis B, to get a DNA sample of those living inside the house to ascertain if they were Bin Laden’s family members.
Afridi had been a government employee and was working as in-charge of the health department for tribal areas, bordering Afghanistan. He was picked up from Peshawar and is still in the custody of Pakistani agencies but no formal charges have been levelled at him so far.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 7th, 2011.
Pakistani citizens, including a doctor, who helped the US track down slain al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden have been barred from leaving the country without official permission.
The ban has been imposed by a judicial panel, headed by Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal, which has been tasked to investigate the May 2 US raid that killed Bin Laden in Abbottabad.
The restriction has reinforced the position of the Pakistani government, which has reportedly been resisting US pressure to release Dr Shakeel Afridi and his accomplices so that they can be given sanctuary in the US.
“The commission has imposed a ban on foreign travel for all persons related to the Abbottabad incident, including Dr Afridi, till further orders. No such person should be allowed to leave the country without clearance from the commission,” said a short statement issued on Tuesday.
The terms of reference of the commission are to ascertain the facts regarding Bin Laden’s prolonged presence in Pakistan, investigate the circumstances and facts surrounding the US operation, determine the nature, background and causes of lapses on part of the responsible authorities, if any, and make consequential recommendations.
The commission is authorised to summon anyone within Pakistan, including officials of powerful secret agencies, military and civilian authorities, and has already called various officials, mainly from military authorities.
On July 5, the commission had directed Pakistani authorities, including secret agencies, to disallow Bin Laden’s family from leaving the country without the commission’s permission. The family is believed to be in the custody of Pakistani intelligence agencies.
Soon after the US secret operation, the Inter Services Intelligence agency (ISI) busted a network of Pakistanis who were working for hunting down Bin Laden in connivance with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Dr Afridi and over a dozen others in the network were taken into custody in the weeks following the US operation. They are still under custody of Pakistani agencies.
The doctor and his collaborators had been recruited by the CIA, under the pretext of vaccinating residents for Hepatitis B, to get a DNA sample of those living inside the house to ascertain if they were Bin Laden’s family members.
Afridi had been a government employee and was working as in-charge of the health department for tribal areas, bordering Afghanistan. He was picked up from Peshawar and is still in the custody of Pakistani agencies but no formal charges have been levelled at him so far.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 7th, 2011.