ISLAMABAD – An influential group of British Pakistanis has been negotiatingwith PM elect Imran Khan and senior military figures to arrange a prisonerswap involving Dr Shakil Afridi, who helped the CIA track the al-Qaidaleader, Osama bin Laden, and Dr Aafia Siddiqui, convicted of attempting tokill two American military personnel, reported *The Guardian.*link
While on the election trail, Khan, who heads the Tehreek-e-Insaf partywhich won the largest number of seats, and is due to be sworn in as primeminister on August 11, announced that he would secure Siddiqui’srepatriation.
The initiative to achieve this is being led by a British peer, Nazir Ahmed,who is to visit Pakistan soon for discussions with the powerful militaryleadership, which is likely to have the final say. Ahmed, who is closelyconnected to the Pakistani establishment, said: “The Americans aredesperate for the release of Dr Afridi and to take him to their country,while the Pakistani public want Dr Siddiqui to come home. There have beensome very positive developments in our discussions with the Pakistanimilitary leadership.
They are very receptive to the idea of striking a deal with the Americansand so is Pakistan’s political leadership. They actually came close to it awhile ago but it fell through because of other factors. It’s just aquestion of timing, but I’m very confident that an exchange can bearranged.”
Siddiqui, 46, is being held at FMC Carswell in Fort Worth, Texas, a federalprison for those with mental health needs, after being sentenced to 86years’ imprisonment in 2010. The Americans accused her of being an al-Qaida“facilitator” who was plotting attacks in New York. For five years beforeher arrest in 2008, they alleged that they did not know of her whereabouts,declaring her one of the world’s most-wanted terrorists.
Afridi, 56, was sentenced in 2013 to 33 years’ imprisonment for treason. Heran a bogus hepatitis B vaccination campaign for the CIA in the Pakistanicity of Abbottabad, collecting DNA samples that allowed it to locate BinLaden, but was charged with other terrorism-related offences. His sentencewas later reduced to 23 years, which he is appealing against from prison inRawalpindi, near Islamabad.