Appealing sentence: FCR commissioner adjourns Shakil Afridi’s hearing for sixth time

Cases registered before the commissioner have to be decided within 60 days.

PESHAWAR: The Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR) Commissioner adjourned Dr Shakil Afridi’s case hearing for the sixth time on Thursday.

The case was adjourned due to absence of state counsels and will now be heard on November 22.

The first hearing took place on June 21, but the case is yet to be decided despite the FCR law stating that cases registered before the commissioner must be decided within 60 days.

Alleged CIA informant Dr Afridi has appealed his conviction by a tribal court, which sentenced him for 33 years in prison for allegedly aiding militant organisation Lashkar-e-Islam. He is also accused of working with the US by launching a fake vaccination campaign in Abbottabad to trace al Qaeda kingpin Osama bin Laden.

Counsels for Dr Afridi, advocates Samiullah and Abdul Latif Afridi, were also present at Thursday’s hearing, which was held at FCR Commissioner Tariq Jamil’s office.

Dr Afridi’s counsels told the commissioner that it was beyond the jurisdiction of an assistant political agent (APA) to sentence someone for 33 years. An APA can send people behind bars for a period of three to 14 years. Latif Afridi said that the state also needs to lodge a written complaint against his client. However, the FCR commissioner said that since the state counsels were absent, it was difficult to hold case proceedings and adjourned the case until November 22.

Initially Dr Afridi’s relatives and lawyers were allowed to meet him once a month at the Peshawar Central Jail, but on September 26 authorities barred him from meeting visitors.  His brother Jamil Afridi claims that visitors were disallowed because of Dr Afridi’s controversial interview aired by Fox News.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 26^th, 2012.