ISLAMABAD – The attack on Save the Children organisation in Afghanistan bythe Afghan Taliban comes amid reports that the organisation is being usedby CIA for its spying network in Pakistan and Afghanistan.The CIA isendangering aid workers by using spies who pose as health officials,according to the head of Save the Children in Pakistan who is trapped inthe country amid allegations the group was gathering intelligence on Osamabin Laden, it was reported earlier when Osama Bin Laden was trackedreportedly in Pakistan by the same organisation spies working under cover,Foreign media has reported.
The charity says its lifesaving work has been ever disrupted ever since alocal doctor falsely claimed to be working on its behalf when he was infact running a fake vaccination programme to obtain DNA evidence asAmerican spies closed in on bin Laden’s lair last year.
Shipments of medicine have spent months bound up in red tape at airports –depriving an estimated 35,000 children of medical care – and foreign staffhave been denied visas.
David Wright, the charity’s country representative, has not left Pakistansince his visa expired in October for fear that his return to the countrywould be barred.
He said intelligence agencies had breached international humanitarian lawand risked the safety of aid groups around the world.
“The blame lies squarely with the CIA which use humanitarian work forintelligence gathering or worse,” he said.
“If it continues then we won’t be able to do our jobs at all in 10 yearstime.”ADVERTISEMENT
The charity says its lifesaving work has been ever disrupted since a localdoctor falsely claimed to be working on its behalf when he was in factrunning a fake vaccination programme to obtain DNA evidence as Americanspies closed in on bin Laden’s lair last year.
Shipments of medicine have spent months bound up in red tape at airports –depriving an estimated 35,000 children of medical care – and foreign staffhave been denied visas.
Shakeel Afridi, 48, was arrested three weeks after the raid to kill binLaden in the Pakistani town of Abbottabad and has not been seen since.
He has been lauded as a hero in the US after running a fake hepatitis Bimmunisation campaign for the CIA.
Intelligence agents believed they had traced bin Laden to a three-storeyvilla but wanted conclusive proof that they had their man.
Using the cover of his health programme, Dr Afridi was tasked withcollecting blood samples from children in the compound to secure DNAevidence that they were related to the world’s most wanted man.
Nurses who worked with Dr Afridi said they never managed to gain access tothe compound.
However, aid workers and security officials say Dr Afridi claimed to havebeen working for Save The Children when he was detained on suspicion ofworking for a foreign intelligence agency.
Since then some senior Save the Children staff have been blocked fromleaving the country. Some workers have been given one-month visas but haveto return to their home country to have it renewed every four weeks.
“Instead of spending money on children, we have to spend it on airfares,”said Mr Wright.
Although Dr Afridi had received training from Save the Children – alongwith 50,000 other health workers – and applied for a job with the group in2009, he had no further connection, said Mr Wright.