Dr Shakil Afridi: Pakistan hints at bridging gap with US
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*ISLAMABAD - Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that Shakil Afridi, the doctor who helped the CIA trace Osama bin Laden, is viewed as a traitor in Pakistan.*
“But he is viewed as a friend in the US,” Qureshi told Fox News. “So we have to bridge this gap.”
However, the foreign minister didn’t reveal if his government was in talks with the Trump Administration about Dr Afridi.
“We have a legal system and Afridi went through that legal process,” he added. “He was given a fair chance to plead his case.”
Dr Afridi was convicted and is serving a jail sentence, Qureshi said.
Before being elected president, Mr Trump made a promise that he would have Dr Afridi released in “two minutes”.
“I would tell them [Pakistan], ‘Let him out,’ and I’m sure they would let him out,” Trump told Fox News in 2016.
Pakistan and US have been at loggerheads after Washington accused Pakistan of aiding anti-America groups in Afghanistan. Pakistan denies this.
