US expresses concerns over Dr Shakil Afridi in Pakistani Jail
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ISLAMABAD - The US has expressed concerns for the safety of a doctor who helped track down Osama bin Laden, the world’s most wanted terrorist. It follows his transfer to a maximum security prison in Pakistan.
“We are aware of reports that Dr. Shakil Afridi has been transferred to another prison,” said Helaena White, the US State Department’s Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs spokesperson, told Arab News.
“We expect the government of Pakistan to take all necessary measures to ensure Dr. Afridi’s safety.”
The doctor, regarded as a hero by the US but a traitor in Pakistan, was transferred last month from Peshawar Central Jail, where he had been held since 2012 after being charged with anti-state activity and colluding with terrorists.
The Inspector General for Prisons in the northwest province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Shahid Ullah, said that Afridi was moved on April 27 to the heavily guarded Rawalpindi Central Jail outside Islamabad, but declined to comment on the reason for the sudden transfer.
KP government adviser on prisons Malik Qasim Khattak said: “It was our longstanding demand to shift Dr. Afridi from Peshawar.”
He said the doctor was a “high-profile case” and Peshawar prison, which holds the country’s most dangerous criminals and terrorists, was not appropriate for him.
Media reports suggest the authorities took the decision due to “security concerns.” However, details behind the sudden relocation of the high-value prisoner, who has been behind bars for seven years, remain vague.
The shift sparked speculation that Afridi may be released or handed over to the US.
The doctor’s lawyer and cousin, Qamar Nadeem Afridi, interpreted the transfer as a sign his client might be released soon. He said Afridi would complete a 10-year jail sentence on May 23 after official remissions were taken into account.
Afridi was initially sentenced to 33 years in prison on four different counts, but his jail term was reduced to 23 years in 2014. Under Pakistani law, when a prisoner is awarded concurrent sentences, he can be released after completion of his maximum sentence on one charge.
