Unresolved: FATA tribunal seeks complete details in Shakil Afridi case
Date of hearing fixed for October 13 after lack of record delays proceedings
PESHAWAR:
The FATA tribunal once again directed the political administration of Khyber Agency and the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) commissioner to submit a complete record of Dr Shakil Afridi’s case.
The doctor was arrested in 2011 after the Osama bin Laden operation and was charged with having links with a banned group. The tribunal on Thursday heard a review application filed by Dr Afridi which said the FCR commissioner’s last verdict did not comply with the previous orders of the tribunal.
During the previous hearing, the tribunal had sought detailed records of the case. However, the order was not complied with and reduced chances of progress on the case.
“Once again, the records were not submitted despite repeated notices issued by the tribunal and the case was simply adjourned,” Qamar Nadeem, Dr Afridi’s counsel, told The Express Tribune. The date for the next hearing has been fixed for October 13.
On March 15, the FCR commissioner had upheld Dr Afridi’s sentence but dropped one of his charges, reducing his jail term from 33 to 23 years.
Dr Shakil appealed to the FATA Tribunal against the decision. He said the decision violated the tribunal’s orders and directed the FCR commissioner to remove the ambiguity.
On December 18, 2013, the FATA Tribunal had remanded Dr Afridi’s case back to the FCR commissioner with directions to clear ambiguities. It directed them to prepare a detailed, well-reasoned order as required by Section 53 of the FCR.
On August 29, 2013, late FCR commissioner Sahibzada Muhammad Anis overturned the sentence granted by the assistant political agent and directed the Khyber Agency political agent to hear the case anew. Lawyers had appealed against the decision and filed a review petition.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 19th, 2014.
The FATA tribunal once again directed the political administration of Khyber Agency and the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) commissioner to submit a complete record of Dr Shakil Afridi’s case.
The doctor was arrested in 2011 after the Osama bin Laden operation and was charged with having links with a banned group. The tribunal on Thursday heard a review application filed by Dr Afridi which said the FCR commissioner’s last verdict did not comply with the previous orders of the tribunal.
During the previous hearing, the tribunal had sought detailed records of the case. However, the order was not complied with and reduced chances of progress on the case.
“Once again, the records were not submitted despite repeated notices issued by the tribunal and the case was simply adjourned,” Qamar Nadeem, Dr Afridi’s counsel, told The Express Tribune. The date for the next hearing has been fixed for October 13.
On March 15, the FCR commissioner had upheld Dr Afridi’s sentence but dropped one of his charges, reducing his jail term from 33 to 23 years.
Dr Shakil appealed to the FATA Tribunal against the decision. He said the decision violated the tribunal’s orders and directed the FCR commissioner to remove the ambiguity.
On December 18, 2013, the FATA Tribunal had remanded Dr Afridi’s case back to the FCR commissioner with directions to clear ambiguities. It directed them to prepare a detailed, well-reasoned order as required by Section 53 of the FCR.
On August 29, 2013, late FCR commissioner Sahibzada Muhammad Anis overturned the sentence granted by the assistant political agent and directed the Khyber Agency political agent to hear the case anew. Lawyers had appealed against the decision and filed a review petition.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 19th, 2014.