Gautam
BANNED
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2011
- Messages
- 2,197
- Reaction score
- -21
- Country
- Location
ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has turned
down the US request to release Dr
Shakil Afridi, a Pakistani physician
accused of helping the Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA) track down
al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden by
arranging a fake vaccination campaign
in Abbottabad.
Dr Afridi was taken into custody by
Pakistani security agencies soon after
bin Laden was killed in a covert raid by
US special forces in Abbottabad on
May 2. Afridi was charged for
arranging a fake vaccination drive in
Bilal Town, Abbottabad, where bin
Laden was living in a large compound,
to get a DNA sample in a syringe from
one of the al Qaeda chiefs blood
relatives so that it could be confirmed
he was living in the compound.
A report by a British newspaper
suggested a few days ago that US
pressure to get Afridi released from
the custody of Pakistani security
agencies had worked to soften the
stand of Islamabad on the contentious
issue, and that the physician was likely
to be set free.
The report quoted a Pakistani official
as saying: If it is confirmed that he
(Afridi) did not deal with Americans
and didnt know he was working for
the CIA, he didnt break any laws. He
also did not spy on Pakistan or violate
the official secrets act. So there may
be no reason to charge him if he was
misled and did not know he was
working indirectly for a foreign
intelligence service. However, a
Pakistani diplomat said that Pakistan
had now expressed its inability to the
US to free Dr Afridi despite intense
pressure from Washington. In fact,
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
also made a phone call to President
Asif Ali Zardari a few days back and
asked for the release of Dr Afridi, but
she was told that it was not possible,
he said.
One major reason that Dr Afridi
couldnt be set free is that he will have
to appear before the Abbottabad
Enquiry Commission as an important
witness to whatever happened in
Abbottabad that led to the May 2
military operation by US forces that
killed bin Laden, he added.
A Pakistani security official, who asked
not to be named, neither confirmed
nor denied that Islamabad had
rejected the US demand to release Dr
Afridi, but said it was most likely that
the Pakistani physician would be
presented before the enquiry
commission for his testimony, which
was very important. I dont know
about rejection of the US demand by
Islamabad but Dr Afridi is an important
figure as far as the bin Laden episode
is concerned and his statement before
the commission could help carry
forward the ongoing probe into the
Abbottabad incident.
down the US request to release Dr
Shakil Afridi, a Pakistani physician
accused of helping the Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA) track down
al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden by
arranging a fake vaccination campaign
in Abbottabad.
Dr Afridi was taken into custody by
Pakistani security agencies soon after
bin Laden was killed in a covert raid by
US special forces in Abbottabad on
May 2. Afridi was charged for
arranging a fake vaccination drive in
Bilal Town, Abbottabad, where bin
Laden was living in a large compound,
to get a DNA sample in a syringe from
one of the al Qaeda chiefs blood
relatives so that it could be confirmed
he was living in the compound.
A report by a British newspaper
suggested a few days ago that US
pressure to get Afridi released from
the custody of Pakistani security
agencies had worked to soften the
stand of Islamabad on the contentious
issue, and that the physician was likely
to be set free.
The report quoted a Pakistani official
as saying: If it is confirmed that he
(Afridi) did not deal with Americans
and didnt know he was working for
the CIA, he didnt break any laws. He
also did not spy on Pakistan or violate
the official secrets act. So there may
be no reason to charge him if he was
misled and did not know he was
working indirectly for a foreign
intelligence service. However, a
Pakistani diplomat said that Pakistan
had now expressed its inability to the
US to free Dr Afridi despite intense
pressure from Washington. In fact,
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
also made a phone call to President
Asif Ali Zardari a few days back and
asked for the release of Dr Afridi, but
she was told that it was not possible,
he said.
One major reason that Dr Afridi
couldnt be set free is that he will have
to appear before the Abbottabad
Enquiry Commission as an important
witness to whatever happened in
Abbottabad that led to the May 2
military operation by US forces that
killed bin Laden, he added.
A Pakistani security official, who asked
not to be named, neither confirmed
nor denied that Islamabad had
rejected the US demand to release Dr
Afridi, but said it was most likely that
the Pakistani physician would be
presented before the enquiry
commission for his testimony, which
was very important. I dont know
about rejection of the US demand by
Islamabad but Dr Afridi is an important
figure as far as the bin Laden episode
is concerned and his statement before
the commission could help carry
forward the ongoing probe into the
Abbottabad incident.
