ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani doctor jailed after helping US forces hunt down Osama bin Laden could be released this month, according to his lawyer.
Dr. Shakil Afridi was arrested after running a fake vaccine program that helped the CIA confirm the Al-Qaeda leader’s presence in his Abbottabad compound. A US Navy Seal raid subsequently killed bin Laden in May, 2011.
Afridi was shifted to Rawalpindi’s high-security Adiala jail from Peshawar prison on Friday, leading to speculation that he may be released or handed over to the US.
Afridi’s lawyer, Qamar Nadeem, told Arab News that Afridi would complete a 10-year jail sentence on May 23 after official remissions were taken into account.
Afridi was given a 33-year jail term on four different charges. Under Pakistani law, a prisoner can be released on completion of his maximum sentence on one charge, Nadeem said.
“I am sure Afridi will be released by the end of this month,” he said.
Nadeem said that Afridi had been charged under the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR), a set of archaic laws applicable only to federally administered tribal areas. It was the prerogative of the federal government and Pakistan’s president to decide his fate.
Afridi was taken into custody shortly after the killing of bin Laden by the US forces in May, 2011.
Sharafat Ali, a senior lawyer and legal consultant to the Ministry of Human Rights, said “it is rare that a criminal is awarded consecutive punishment on different charges.
“The relevant authorities in Afridi’s case will have no legal justification to keep him in jail after completion of his sentence,” he told Arab News.
Afridi was accused of helping the CIA track down Al-Qaeda kingpin in Abbottabad by running a fake polio vaccine campaign, but was never tried on charges of helping a foreign spy agency. Instead, it emerged in May 2012 that he had been tried under the FCR and sentenced to 33 years in prison for his alleged links with militant outfit Lashkar-i-Islam and its chief Mangal Bagh.
Afridi’s brother Jamil said that no one from his family has been informed about transfer of his brother to Adiala jail in Rawalpindi.
“We are worried about his health and whereabouts,” he told Arab News. “At least someone from the government should tell us where he is.”
Commenting on Afridi’s possible release, he said: “I am not aware of any such development and this may not be the right time to say anything about this possibility.”
US President Donald Trump said in an interview during his election campaign that he could have Afridi released in two minutes and he was certain that Pakistani officials would not object.
Pakistan later condemned his statement and said Afridi’s fate would be decided by Islamabad, not Washington.
Lt. Gen. (retired) Amjad Shoaib, a security analyst, said the government should not allow Afridi to leave Pakistan after completion of his jail term.
“If (Afridi) is allowed to go abroad, he will indulge in a propaganda campaign against Pakistan,” Shoaib told Arab News.
“We are a sovereign nation and we shouldn’t accept pressure from any country, including the US, over the issue of Afridi,” he said.
Doctor who helped CIA catch Osama bin Laden 'set for release,' says lawyer
Doctor who helped CIA catch Osama bin Laden 'set for release,' says lawyer
- A senior lawyer said, it is rare that a criminal is awarded consecutive punishment on different charges.
- Afridi was accused of helping the CIA track down Al-Qaeda kingpin in Abbottabad by running a fake polio vaccine campaign.
Bangladesh’s Yunus announces resignation, end of interim govt
- Yunus handed over power after congratulating the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its leader Tarique Rahman
DHAKA: Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus stepped down on Monday in a farewell broadcast to the nation before handing over to an elected government.
“Today, the interim government is stepping down,” the 85-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner said.
“But let the practice of democracy, freedom of speech, and fundamental rights that has begun not be halted.”
Yunus returned from self-imposed exile in August 2024, days after the iron-fisted government of Sheikh Hasina was overthrown by a student-led uprising and she fled by helicopter to India.
“That was the day of great liberation,” he said. “What a day of joy it was! Bangladeshis across the world shed tears of happiness. The youth of our country freed it from the grip of a demon.”
He has led Bangladesh as its “chief adviser” since, and now hands over power after congratulating the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its leader Tarique Rahman on a “landslide victory” in elections last week.
“The people, voters, political parties, and stakeholder institutions linked to the election have set a commendable example,” Yunus said.
“This election has set a benchmark for future elections.”
Rahman, 60, chief of the BNP and scion of one of the country’s most powerful political dynasties, will lead the South Asian nation of 170 million.
Rebuilt institutions’
Bangladeshi voters endorsed sweeping democratic reforms in a national referendum, a key pillar of Yunus’s post-uprising transition agenda, on the same day as the elections.
The lengthy document, known as the “July Charter” after the month when the uprising that toppled Hasina began, proposes term limits for prime ministers, the creation of an upper house of parliament, stronger presidential powers and greater judicial independence.
“We did not start from zero — we started from a deficit,” he said.
“Sweeping away the ruins, we rebuilt institutions and set the course for reforms.”
The referendum noted that approval would make the charter “binding on the parties that win” the election, obliging them to endorse it.
However, several parties raised questions before the vote, and the reforms will still require ratification by the new parliament.
The BNP alliance won 212 seats, compared with 77 for the Jamaat-e-Islami-led alliance, according to the Election Commission.
Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman conceded on Saturday, saying his Islamist party would “serve as a vigilant, principled, and peaceful opposition.”
Newly elected lawmakers are expected to be sworn in on Tuesday, after which Tarique Rahman is set to become Bangladesh’s next prime minister.
Police records show that political clashes during the campaign period killed five people and injured more than 600.
However, despite weeks of turbulence ahead of the polls, voting day passed without major unrest and the country has responded to the results with relative calm.
