54 replies to this topic

[BaburMissile]

A Pakistani doctor who helped the CIA find Osama Bin Laden has been sentenced to 33 years in jail, officials say.

Shakil Afridi was charged with treason for running a fake vaccination programme to gather information for the American intelligence agency.

US Defense secretary Leon Panetta confirmed in January that Dr Afridi collected DNA to help locate Bin Laden.

Bin Laden was killed by US forces in the north-western city of Abbottabad in May 2011.

The killing triggered a rift between the US and Pakistan, whose government was seriously embarrassed to find Bin Laden had been living in Pakistan.

Islamabad felt the covert US operation was a violation of its sovereignty.

Shortly after the raid on Bin Laden's house, Dr Afridi was arrested for conspiring against the state of Pakistan.

He was found guilty under the tribal justice system in Khyber district, and has also been fined $3,500.

Earlier this year, Leon Panetta spoke to the CBS television programme "60 minutes" about the case.

He said Dr Afridi "was not in any way treasonous towards Pakistan... for them to take this kind of action against somebody who was helping to go after terrorism, I just think is a real mistake on their part".

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk...d-asia-18175964

Yanks going to throw fits. Expect things to deteriorate.

[butterfly]

Jail is too good for the traitor.

[SUPARCO]

Salaam,

Is this true?  This then implies that Osama Bin Laden was indeed killed in Pakistan.

Salaam

[Reality Bites]

SUPARCO, on 23 May 2012 - 06:21 AM, said:

Salaam,

Is this true?  This then implies that Osama Bin Laden was indeed killed in Pakistan.

Salaam

Following this topic closely, I had an impression that Dr. Afridi was charged with collaborating with a foreign spy agency without the knowledge of Government of Pakistan and not for finding OBL. During this trial, Afridi's defence (behind closed doors) was that there was no DNA found. If in fact OBL had been there and DNA scam had worked, Afridi would have gotten death sentence. Since treason did not cause 100% of intended harm to Pakistan, the punishment was not exercised to the fullest.

RB

[mehrushka]

oh god please,havent we all had enough of this obl being killed in abbotabad drama

[platinum786]

LOL, the biggest traitors who sold our country to the USA are still at large. Most of them are in government.

[HKK]

Game on. Timing is interesting. This happened after the drone strike. If america raise stakes further, next step should be to block the air corridor as well.

[Pikes]

Check out the comments here: http://goo.gl/nECyg

the "love" is overflowing. lol

[Alp Arsalan Ghazi]

Execute this traitor and be done with it

[Bilal]

It would be fun if he dies of some mysterious desease in captivity...

[butterfly]

platinum786, on 23 May 2012 - 02:59 PM, said:

LOL, the biggest traitors who sold our country to the USA are still at large. Most of them are in government.

Not just in government but they head the government. How sad.

[Magnus]

US cuts Pakistan aid over jailing of 'Bin Laden doctor'

A US Senate panel has cut $33m (£21m) in aid to Pakistan in response to the jailing of a Pakistani doctor who helped the CIA find Osama Bin Laden.

The Senate Appropriations Committee has said it will cut US aid by $1m for each year of Shakil Afridi's sentence.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said his term was "unjust and unwarranted".

Dr Afridi was tried for treason under a tribal justice system for running a fake vaccination programme to gather information for US intelligence.

Bin Laden was killed by US forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in May 2011.

The move from the Senate panel follows earlier cuts to the White House's budget request for Pakistan. The cuts would be part of a bill that would send $1bn in aid to Pakistan in the next financial year.

"We need Pakistan, Pakistan needs us, but we don't need Pakistan double-dealing and not seeing the justice in bringing Osama Bin Laden to an end," said Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, calling Pakistan "a schizophrenic ally".

Meanwhile Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy said: "It's Alice in Wonderland at best. If this is co-operation, I'd hate like hell to see opposition."

Correspondents say the cuts reflect mounting frustration in Congress over Pakistan's role in fighting terrorism on its soil.

Absent from court
Meanwhile, Mrs Clinton spoke out against Dr Afridi's sentence.

"The United States does not believe there is any basis for holding Dr [Shakil] Afridi. We regret the fact that he was convicted and the severity of his sentence," Mrs Clinton told reporters on Thursday.

She added that she would continue to pursue the issue with the authorities in Pakistan.

The killing triggered a rift between the US and Pakistan, whose government was seriously embarrassed as it emerged Bin Laden had been living in Pakistan.

Islamabad felt the covert US operation was a violation of its sovereignty.

Shortly after the raid on Bin Laden's house, Dr Afridi was arrested for conspiring against the state of Pakistan.

Pakistan has insisted that any country would have done the same if it found one of its citizens working for a foreign spy agency.

Dr Afridi was found guilty in Khyber district, and fined $3,500. If he does not pay the fine his prison sentence will be extended by a further three years.

Dr Afridi, who is now being held in jail in Peshawar, was not present in court so was unable to give his side of the story.

In June, Pakistani army officials told the BBC that some suspects were arrested for helping the Americans refuel their helicopters during the raid. Others were detained because they were suspected of firing flares to guide the helicopters towards the compound.

It is not clear if Dr Afridi knew who the target of the investigation was when the CIA recruited him, or what DNA he managed to collect in the fake hepatitis B vaccination programme.

The idea was to obtain a blood sample from one of the children living in the Abbottabad compound, so that DNA tests could determine whether or not they were relatives of Bin Laden.

The issues of drone strikes and Pakistan's refusal to re-open Nato supply routes to Afghanistan have also recently strained the two allies' relationship.

Pakistan's parliament has called for an end to the use of drones, and says they are an attack on its sovereignty. A drone strike on Wednesday killed four people in the North Waziristan tribal area, security officials said.

The two countries also failed to reach agreement at the Nato summit in Chicago over the supply routes that were closed after a US air strike in 2011 killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

Islamabad is demanding more than $5,000 (£3,200) per lorry in transit fees, up from its previous rate of $250, to let supplies flow again.

http://www.bbc.co.uk...d-asia-18201077

[butterfly]

The Senate Appropriations Committee has said it will cut US aid by $1m for each year of Shakil Afridi's sentence



So if they kill him then Pakistan will get $33 million as he will no longer be in jail right? Pathetic.

[atomicwaste12]

I do not support the way this has been handled.

Pakistan is not an island that can flip the bird to uncle sam. Our corrupt regimes and hence our economy has made us so weak we cannot act as though we are a China and even then China is now allowing dissidents out of the country.

The doctor did help a foreign spy agency to work on our soil and his work contributed to the acute embarresment we suffered when OBL was found in Pakistan and killed. It showed Pakistan as (at best) inept or even worse complicit. Hence, the US could not expect Pakistan to turn the other cheek but at the same time we had to be better than this to show the world that the CIA left this doctor to rot (yes they did) and yet we were merciful. The punishment is far too harsh and the sentence should have been suspended. OBL was not a state secret and in fact finding him was the stated objective of the Pakistan too. Hence his punishment should be for being a stooge of the CIA but not for the fact he helped find OBL.

Our edict is Bismillah and hence we should have lived by that wonderful and most powerful word.

**************************

The fact that the US congress has forgotten is that Pakistan has conducted many operations and made many sacrifices for the US and the world and have just focused on certain things. We allow the US to conduct the hated drones attacks at the cost to our own national fabric in order to appease the US citizen. We have captured more people and lost more men than the ISAF combined.

We have seen 30,000 people die as a result of our sacrifices and yet they cut the aid.

And then they wonder why we hate them the two faced back stabbing SOBs.

[Skull-Buster]

He worked for a foreign spy agency against his own country, thus he is a traitor and deserves punishment. People arguing that he helped eliminate OBL, well the fact is that he had no idea who he was spying on. He was in it just for the money.

[Felicius]

Skull-Buster, on 25 May 2012 - 05:23 AM, said:

He worked for a foreign spy agency against his own country, thus he is a traitor and deserves punishment.

He wasn't working for a Pakistani agency. Pakistan always maintained that OBL was not in Pakistan, and hence Govt. 'took money from the Americans' to find OBL.
Everyone, and anyone, including retired military officers were after the bounty, and were, in their own ways, searching for OBL.

He found him and claimed the bounty. He was successful, does not mean he was a traitor. PA were the traitors here.
Did we as Pakistani's, wanted aything to do with OBL, or to harbour him?

The one's who wanted to harbour OBL are traitors here.

[Aslam]

Shehz, on 25 May 2012 - 09:22 AM, said:

He wasn't working for a Pakistani agency. Pakistan always maintained that OBL was not in Pakistan, and hence Govt. 'took money from the Americans' to find OBL.
Everyone, and anyone, including retired military officers were after the bounty, and were, in their own ways, searching for OBL.

He found him and claimed the bounty. He was successful, does not mean he was a traitor. PA were the traitors here.
Did we as Pakistani's, wanted aything to do with OBL, or to harbour him?

The one's who wanted to harbour OBL are traitors here.

He was hired and paid by US spy agency without permission from Pakistani Army, ISI or the Pakistani Government in Pakistan which makes him a traitor. What if ISI hires an American Citizen to spy  for Raymond Davis and than get him killed, Would USA government not send that American Citizen to Jail? The one who harboured OBL were terrorist and uses the method of terror to spread their version of Islam. This sell out guy should of contact and asked for permision from Pakistan Army/ ISI or Pakistan government for this kind of act in Pakistan.

[Felicius]

He wasn't working for any Pakistani agency, why is he bound by the no tell no do rule when Pakistan is a democratic and free country, and everyone is free to choose their livelihoods? Since when is it illegal to work for a foreign country or corporation? We have retired PA personnel, sworn to secrecy until they die, who are working for Xe and Blackwater.

And he wasn't working against Pakistan, if PA denies/refutes that they "knew" about OBL.
Pakistan, in fact, maintained that "we" don't have OBL, lying to the public, and taking money from the US to help find OBL, when he is sitting in our backyard all this time. PA are the guilty party to bring ill-repute to the entire nation.

This guy exposed them, he is a patriot, at the least.

Edited by Shehz, 25 May 2012 - 01:40 PM.

[safdar]

Shehz, on 25 May 2012 - 01:32 PM, said:

And he wasn't working against Pakistan, if PA denies/refutes that they "knew" about OBL.
Pakistan, in fact, maintained that "we" don't have OBL, lying to the public, and taking money from the US to help find OBL, when he is sitting in our backyard all this time. PA are the guilty party to bring ill-repute to the entire nation.

This guy exposed them, he is a patriot, at the least.

The Americans also knew where OBL was, because the PAK army must have told them so. Think about it, why in Abbott bad, why not look in haripur or mansehra Muzafarabad, swabi, Norshera Peshawar or Malakand?.  And how long has it been since this guy’s been operating and in what other regions or how many CIA spies are operating in Pakistani territories. The population of Abbottabad alone in close to a million, which would have taken quite some time, and unless he knew exactly where to look for OBL its impossible to look for one man within a population of millions with a window of only 5/6 years. My main concern isn’t OBL to me he was dead along time ago, however this whole drama has put the immunisation program in disrepute, specially in those regions where it is needed the most, he has done more damage than good. For that I have no pity or remorse for shahid afridi. the sad thing is his family is less protected then OBL's family.

[Felicius]

Safdar, the entire operation, how they traced him has been revealed. We need to accept it for now, until a different report surfaces. Pakistani Forces media aren't even attempting to rebut it, forget anything credible will come out from them anytime soon (or later).

PA themselves want to bury it to be honest, and they knew that this incident will over-ride the Salala apology demand; who's interest are they really working towards?

But again, whether the Americans knew or not, is a different story, nothing to do with this chap. There was an ex-officer (PA) who had provided the earlier link, and he lives in Pakistan.

Edited by Shehz, 25 May 2012 - 02:03 PM.

[Aslam]

I don't agree that any guy can be a Pakistani patriot if he is spying and getting highly paid for some other country interest. Hows come he is a Pakistani patriot if he didn't put Pakistan interest First? This is not in Pakistan interest to help/involve other countries agencies to come to Pakistan (without Pakistan's permission/knowledge) and kill/capture terrorists/extremists. I am sure he knew what would be the image of Pakistan will become, if he get involved and succeeded in this spy doctor work but he did that for the money. I think Pakistan would of been in much better position in the world had our ISI or army were involved or had some part in catching OBL. Pakistan have caught so many alqaeda terrorists, but this OBL wiped out all the lost lives and effort that Pakistan army did in the past. His Spy Doctor step will only provide/assist help in declaring Pakistan a terrorist state by USA, or a state where the armies harbor terrorists and Shehz bhai is calling this guy a Pakistani patriot to say the least.

[safdar]

Shehz, on 25 May 2012 - 02:00 PM, said:

But again, whether the Americans knew or not, is a different story, nothing to do with this chap. There was an ex-officer (PA) who had provided the earlier link, and he lives in Pakistan.

Shez you have to give me something tangible to contemplate on. I accept that OBL is dead, however I know he is the least of their worries, you  have Mula omar, Aiman Al-zawahiri, Haqani and other unknowns. They specifically went for OBL in abbottabad and only in 2005 it was revealed that OBL is probably in Pakistan by the then PAK military spokesman, Major General Shaukat Sultan. Im discussing this right now with a guy who has lived in abbottabad all his life.

[Felicius]

Safdar, everything tangible is all in the news for me. People I know in the military circles have moved on in their lives. But what I speak was in the news nevertheless.

Aslam, CIA may have been running the show, but does not say you are working for CIA. He is not ISI that he will do a background check. That is not how CIA operates. There will be a shadow company in the front, or else ISI would have known as well. I doubt he was even aware initially, but that is another thing.
Going against the country, in my books, was harbouring OBL. I would have done the same.

Patriotism is exposing the dirty scoundrels in the military, I bet they were being paid handsomely by the Taliban/AL-Qaeda and OBL.
These traitors were playing with the security of the entire nation. When exposed, the entire set-up is screaming blue murder. After internal investigations, and not to bring any more disrepute to the institution, they become one and the same (covering each other's tracks).

We aren't Libya, that we bomb an airliner, then harbour the bomber, then hand him over, and then give him a hero's welcome when he returns.

[atomicwaste12]

Shehz, on 25 May 2012 - 03:17 PM, said:

We aren't Libya, that we bomb an airliner, then harbour the bomber, then hand him over, and then give him a hero's welcome when he returns.

Here the Americans got it wrong again. Megrahi was not the bomber, there was a Syrian connection but at the time Libya was the bad guy and they got nailed for it. Just like PK is being made a scapegoat for the ISAF freaking failures in Afghanistan and we did warn them not to go in but hubris...

[platinum786]

The guy gathered intel for the CIA. He had no idea what intel he was gathering, for who and for what purpose, other than the green he recieved for it.

We're told he led to the capture of OBL, but i didn't see him, did you? Why throw the body into the sea, why not cremate it, you'll never find out anything from the ashes. It's a bogus story from start to end, He's a pawn in this story, a pawn who's gonna cost Zardari a whole $33 million, i'm sure he must cry himself to sleep over such a figure.

[Sanguine]

Associating everything with politics or whats going behind the doors will do us no good. The man has been denied his right to fair trial. Someone should ask these morons who gave tribal court authority to try him for an offence which was committed in Abbottabad?

[Skull-Buster]

The guy had no idea who or what he was spying on. He was paid by the CIA to gather DNA evidence by using fake vaccination programs. He did that just for the money, period.

And anyone who works for a foreign spy agency for money, is without any doubt, a TRAITOR.

[ali23]

Quote

Associating everything with politics or whats going behind the doors will do us no good. The man has been denied his right to fair trial. Someone should ask these morons who gave tribal court authority to try him for an offense which was committed in Abbottabad?

There is no death sentence for treason under FCR according to what i have read in the media. If tried by a Pakistani court he would have faced a death sentence (but he would have had the right to challenge the punishment in a higher court).

[MoThSmOkE]

Afridi gets jailed for cooperating with CIA but its ok for ISI to do the same..?!?


Or Afridi was working against the state, which means it was not in the state's interest to get OBL killed? Because the GHQ wanted to continue keeping the Americans interested while making sure aid money was coming.


Not saying Afridi should be released scot-free but hopefully the courts keep this in mind.

[Sanguine]

ali23, on 27 May 2012 - 06:13 AM, said:

There is no death sentence for treason under FCR according to what i have read in the media. If tried by a Pakistani court he would have faced a death sentence (but he would have had the right to challenge the punishment in a higher court).

And I think had he been given any legal assistance, it would have been hard to prove treason. But before we get into this discussion, the simple point is that "crime is always local in nature", so how come that tribal court could try him for an offence that was never committed within tribal area? And when you know that he does not have the right to appeal, that clearly proves intention behind such a hasty move.

[BaburMissile]

There's no point in dragging his case. He required swift justice. There is a reason why the Americans are crying foul over his conviction. They stand firmly behind Afridi.  He was their man. Afridi has the sympathy and backing of the United States Secretary of State. What more clear evidence do we need? That should be enough indication where the loyalties of some Pakistanis stands today. There is a reason why the Americans confidently boast about their intelligence network within Pakistan. Not only have Americans infiltrated Pakistan, but many local elements are also willing to trade their loyalty. Yes, Afridi deserves swift justice.

[Felicius]

BaburMissile, on 27 May 2012 - 11:52 AM, said:

There is a reason why the Americans are crying foul over his conviction. They stand firmly behind Afridi.  He was their man. Afridi has the sympathy and backing of the United States Secretary of State. What more clear evidence do we need?

They are pissed because earlier we refuted that "we knew about him and his hideout" and today we have jailed the person who helped them, while all this time we were taking the money from them to offer the very same help (while he was in our backyard).

Edited by Shehz, 27 May 2012 - 12:36 PM.

[Felicius]

MoThSmOkE, on 27 May 2012 - 10:38 AM, said:

Or Afridi was working against the state, which means it was not in the state's interest to get OBL killed?

..... that plus continue to take money from the Americans to find him.

It was at-most 100 to 150 personnel involved in this, also taking money from OBL/AL-Qaeda for his safety. When exposed, the entire PA is trying to protect these traitor's tracks. All out shaheeds killed for the greed of a few traitors.

Afridi was a patriot, or if not for him we'd be doing this forever, while killing great personals.

Edited by Shehz, 27 May 2012 - 12:35 PM.

[BaburMissile]

Shehz, on 27 May 2012 - 12:26 PM, said:

They are pissed because earlier we refuted that "we knew about him and his hideout" and today we have jailed the person who helped them, while all this time we were taking the money from them to offer the very same help (while he was in our backyard).

You ought to know my position after the OBL raid regarding the Pakistani army and the civilian government of Pakistan. Both are in dire need of change. I concur with your viewpoint. It has always been about the money. These institutes have destroyed Pakistan due to greed for more money. I wouldn't go as far as hailing Afridi as a patriot, but certain elements within the army and the civilian government are responsible for the entire fiasco.

[ali23]

Quote

And I think had he been given any legal assistance, it would have been hard to prove treason. But before we get into this discussion, the simple point is that "crime is always local in nature", so how come that tribal court could try him for an offence that was never committed within tribal area? And when you know that he does not have the right to appeal, that clearly proves intention behind such a hasty move

The authorities simply needed to get an early decision so they used to the FCR route instead of the regular courts as the case would have been dragged for a longer period.I don't know which legal clause/loophole did they use for this purpose.

If someone has the ability to choose a court and a judge then he has more chances of getting a favorable decision.

I will not call the doctor as a patriot but i also now have doubts regarding the orientation of present military leadership after incidents like raymond davis incident, OBL fiasco,the drone campaign and all those lies regarding shamsi base e.t.c.

[MoThSmOkE]

Incident happened in Abbotabad so I am at a loss why is he being tried in a tribal court. Only argument that can be made is he was a resident of FATA and that too is a very weak one.

Shehz, agreed. Americans have the right to be pissed. They see Pakistan taking all the aid, and when some guy is involved in tracking OBL down, the government quickly arrests him and tries him under a tribal court. Sounds fishy.

On a sidenote, why would Americans take Pakistan seriously when there are alot of times we've been double dealing. Either we take the aid and help them, or say no thank you no aid, no help. This double dealing is an absolute PR disaster for Pakistan. Our citizens are having the face the wrath of this policy. And we continue to get snubbed, insulted in every forum. At the behest of very few people in the parliament and GHQ.

The irony is that we've been doing the same with the Taliban.

[Sanguine]

MoThSmOkE, on 27 May 2012 - 08:16 PM, said:

Incident happened in Abbotabad so I am at a loss why is he being tried in a tribal court. Only argument that can be made is he was a resident of FATA and that too is a very weak one.

Because verdict of tribal court cannot be challenged in any court of law.

[platinum786]

Robert Fisk: The going price of getting away with murder... would $33m be enough?



La Clinton hath spoken. Thirty-three million smackers lopped off Pakistan's aid budget because its spooks banged up poor old Dr Shakeel Afridi for 33 years after a secret trial. And, as the world knows, Dr Afridi's crime was to confirm the presence of that old has-been Osama bin Laden in his grotty Abbottabad villa.


Well, that will teach the Pakistanis to mess around with a brave doctor who is prepared to help the American institution that tortures and murders its enemies. Forget the CIA's black prisons and rendition and water-boarding, and the torture of the innocents in the jails of our friendly dictators. Dr Afridi was just doing the free world a favour. And WOW, Dr Afridi got shopped by Leon Pannetta when he was CIA boss, and now Barack Obama is accused of letting him down.

Well, I pause here. Dr Afridi was brought before a secret trial in the Khyber tribal area – no charge sheets, no lawyers, no statements from the defendant or the prosecution, just a measly accusation of conspiracy against the state of Pakistan and "high treason". I've never known the difference between "treason" and "high treason" but – since Pakistan's security apparatus is a mirror image of the British Empire – I assume it was invented by us. "High treason" means treason against the monarch. By fingering Bin Laden, after using a ruse about vaccinating his family against hepatitis B to gain access to him, Dr Afridi was committing treason against King Asif Ali Zardari, otherwise known as the President of Pakistan.
But hold on a moment. Let's suppose Vladimir Putin sent a KGB/FSB hit squad to Britain to murder a former agent called Alexander Litvinenko who had turned against his old spymasters. And let's suppose that the Russians murdered Litvinenko. Which – in real life – they did. And Litvinenko – in real life – was indeed a trusted agent of the Russians, just as Bin Laden was a much-admired servant of the CIA when he was fighting the Russians in Afghanistan.

Getting a bit close to home? Well, let's go a stage further. Supposing Litvinenko was murdered after being identified by a friendly British GP – working for the KGB/FSB – who vaccinated the Litvinenko family against hep B. What do Messrs Cameron and Clegg and the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police and the Lord Chief Justice and the Lord High Executioner and all the other nabobs do? Do they accuse the British GP of treason, clap him in irons, stage a hush-hush trial covered by the Official Secrets Act and send the chap off to rot in the Tower of London for – say – 33 years?
Or do they accept a bribe from Moscow of, say, $33m (£21m) to let the GP out of jug so he can potter off to Moscow to be given a new home and restart his career as a doktor for the nomenklatura?

In other words, are the Pakistanis being so dastardly when they lock up a national who has helped a foreign power murder an exile inside his own country of Pakistan? And, more to the point, wouldn't we do the same?
And let's take the story of hypocrisy a stage further. Wasn't there a brave Israeli citizen called Mordechai Vanunu, who, in opposition to the nuclear weapons that his country was amassing in secret, spoke out to the world about this outrageous threat to international world order and was subsequently kidnapped from Italy by intelligence agents, tried in Israel for "treason" – in secret, of course – and spent 18 years in prison? Now I grant you that's 15 years shorter than poor old Dr Afridi, but Vanunu still lives under grave restrictions to his liberty and has twice been imprisoned again for the heinous crime of chatting to foreign journalists.

And has La Clinton threatened to suspend a single dollar of Israel's annual $3bn in aid from the United States for the next 33 years in order to protest Israel's treatment of Vanunu? Not to mention – not even to utter the words – Sabra and Chatila, Gaza, a 45-year occupation, illegal colonisation of West Bank land, etc, etc, or, indeed, for producing nuclear weapons. And we absolutely must not mention Jonathan Pollard, the former CIA and US Navy intelligence officer sentenced to life in prison in 1987 for spying for Israel. For if Pollard is not released, is Israel threatening to cut its aid to America? Hold on, that doesn't quite compute, does it? But you get the point.

It's about hypocrisy. Sure, Pakistan is a corrupt country. Sure, it is corrupt from the shoeshiner up to the pinnacles of power. But I suppose in the end, if you're going to prostitute yourself to America – financially and militarily, as Pakistan has done for decades – that's the price you pay. Which is why hypocrisy will win. For Dr Afridi, I predict, will be quietly given a substantial reduction in his sentence, will be released – or disappear – from his Pakistani prison and, in a few months/ years, when Zardari has scored enough points from Dr Afridi's imprisonment, the good doctor will pop up in the US with a fine medical practice and the pleasure of knowing – of course – that La Clinton has re-endowed Pakistan with its missing $33m.

http://www.independe...gh-7792720.html

[faizan khaliq]

To be a CIA agent is the fundamental right of high ups how dare he a commoner tried to work for them   , he deserve what he got but he will out soon,Kiyani as usual want want to use him for trade

[Skull-Buster]

Pakistan contends doctor's conviction wasn't tied to Bin Laden raid


ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — A Pakistani doctor arrested after helping the CIA track down Osama bin Laden was convicted and sentenced on charges of militancy, Pakistani authorities insisted Wednesday,  not because of his links with the effort to pinpoint the whereabouts of the Al Qaeda leader.
Officials released copies of the verdict handed down against Shakeel Afridi. They show that a tribal court convicted him of aiding Lashkar-e-Islam, a militant group based in the tribal region of Khyber along the Afghan border.
Characterizing the charges as being related to his alleged relationship with Lashkar-e-Islam makes it more difficult for Washington to continue to argue for Afridi’s release.
Last week when Khyber authorities announced Afridi’s conviction and sentence of 33 years, they said the treason verdict against him stemmed from his work with the CIA.

Up until this week, Pakistani authorities had never mentioned any pending charges against Afridi that alleged ties with militant groups. Instead, Islamabad had consistently maintained that he had been detained because he had been collaborating with the CIA, a foreign intelligence agency.
Lashkar-e-Islam lays claim to parts of the Khyber region and in recent years has carried out numerous attacks on Pakistani security forces as well as kidnappings and slayings of local tribespeople. According to the verdict, Afridi, once Khyber’s chief surgeon, gave Lashkar-e-Islam $22,000 and provided medical treatment to several of the group’s commanders.
The verdict also says that Afridi, 48, was convicted of allowing Lashkar-e-Islam commanders to use his offices at a Khyber hospital to plan attacks against Pakistani security forces, local schools and other government buildings.
“The accused was providing assistance to [Lashkar-e-Islam] because of his deep affiliation with it,” the verdict stated.
Afridi was tried under a set of laws that applies to the country’s semi-autonomous tribal region, in which a council of elders hears evidence. The system, a throwback from the period of British colonial rule, does not allow a defendant to present material evidence, cross-examine witnesses or be represented by a lawyer.
Afridi led a fake hepatitis B vaccination campaign in the military city of Abbottabad in an attempt to secure DNA evidence from Bin Laden’s residence. The samples would have been compared to DNA evidence from the Al Qaeda leader's relatives on file in Washington.
Afridi was not able to get the samples, but U.S. officials have said he provided information that helped locate Bin Laden. Pakistani authorities arrested Afridi shortly after the U.S. commando raid that killed Bin Laden at his compound in Abbottabad in May 2011.
The U.S. sought his release, contending that Afridi was a hero rather than a traitor, and had helped track down the world’s most wanted man. Pakistanis, however, viewed Afridi as a spy, and a governmental commission that investigated the Abbottabad raid later recommended that the Pakistani doctor be tried on treason charges.
The verdict stated that investigators had provided evidence of Afridi’s involvement with “foreign intelligence agencies,” an apparent reference to the CIA, but added that the tribal court lacked jurisdiction to rule on that evidence.