ISLAMABAD – The Pakistani doctor who helped the CIA track and kill Osamabin Laden has launched a hunger strike from his prison cell, his lawyer andfamily said Monday.
Shakeel Afridi has been languishing behind bars for years since his fakevaccination programme helped US agents track and kill the Al Qaeda leaderin 2011.
“It is to protest the injustices and inhumane attitudes being committedagainst him and his family,” his brother Jamil Afridi told AFP aftermeeting with Afridi in a prison in central Punjab province.
His attorney Qamar Nadeem also confirmed the hunger strike.
Afridi was jailed for 33 years in May 2012 after he was convicted of havingties to militants, a charge he has always denied.
His sentence was later reduced by 10 years.
Some US lawmakers have branded the case as revenge for his help in thesearch for the Al Qaeda chief.
The 2011 killing of Bin Laden caused massive embarrassment for Pakistan andparticularly its powerful military.
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For years Afridi has had no access to his lawyer, while his appeal againsthis prison sentence has stalled with scheduled court appearances repeatedlydelayed.
His family has also complained of being targeted and harassed byauthorities over the years.
US President Donald Trump vowed during his election campaign that he wouldorder Pakistan to free Afridi, but since taking office has been largelysilent on the issue.
The comments sparked a blistering rebuttal from Pakistan, whose interiorminister at the time branded Trump “ignorant” and stated that the”government of Pakistan and not Donald Trump” would decide Afridi’s fate.
In recent years Pakistani authorities have cracked down on nonprofits andforced them to leave the country, which analysts say was largely tied tothe Afridi case due to the security establishment’s fears that NGOs haveprovided cover for spying. – APP / AFP
