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.
Australia Day protesters demand Indigenous rights
SYDNEY: Thousands of people rallied in cities across Australia demanding justice and rights for Indigenous peoples on Monday, a national holiday marking the 1788 arrival of a British fleet in Sydney Harbor.
Crowds took to the streets in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Perth and other cities on Australia Day, many with banners proclaiming: “Always was, always will be Aboriginal land.”
In Sydney, police allowed the protests to go ahead despite new curbs introduced after gunmen opened fire on a Jewish Hanukkah festival on Bondi Beach on December 14, killing 15 people.
Millions of Australians celebrate the annual holiday with beers and backyard barbecues or a day by the sea, and this year a broad heatwave was forecast to push the temperature in South Australian capital Adelaide to 45C.
Shark sightings forced people out of the water at several beaches in and around Sydney, however, after a string of shark attacks in the region this month — including one that led to the death of a 12-year-old boy.
Many activists describe the January 26, 1788, British landing as “Invasion Day,” a moment that ushered in a period of oppression, lost lands, massacres and Indigenous children being removed from their families.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples make up about four percent of the population.
They still have a life expectancy eight years shorter than other Australians, higher rates of incarceration and deaths in custody, steeper youth unemployment and poorer education.
- Anti-immigration protests -
“Let’s celebrate on another day, because everyone loves this country and everyone wants to celebrate. But we don’t celebrate on a mourning day,” Indigenous man Kody Bardy, 44, told AFP in Sydney.
Another Indigenous protester in Sydney, 23-year-old Reeyah Dinah Lotoanie, called for people to recognize that a genocide happened in Australia.
“Ships still came to Sydney and decided to kill so many of our people,” she said.
Separately, thousands of people joined anti-immigration “March for Australia” protests in several cities, with police in Melbourne mobilizing to keep the two demonstrations apart.
In Sydney, “March for Australia” protesters chanted, “Send them back.” Some carried banners reading: “Stop importing terrorists” or “One flag, one country, one people.”
“There’s nowhere for people to live now, the hospitals are full, the roads are full, you’ve got people living on the streets,” said one demonstrator, 66-year-old Rick Conners.
Several also held aloft placards calling for the release of high-profile neo-Nazi Joel Davis, who is in custody after being arrested in November on allegations of threatening a federal lawmaker.
“There will be no tolerance for violence or hate speech on Sydney streets,” New South Wales Premier Chris Minns told reporters.
“We live in a beautiful, multicultural community with people from around the world, but we will not tolerate a situation where on Australia’s national day, it’s being pulled down by divisive language, hate speech or racism,” he said.
“Police are ready and willing to engage with people that breach those rules.”
Crowds took to the streets in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Perth and other cities on Australia Day, many with banners proclaiming: “Always was, always will be Aboriginal land.”
In Sydney, police allowed the protests to go ahead despite new curbs introduced after gunmen opened fire on a Jewish Hanukkah festival on Bondi Beach on December 14, killing 15 people.
Millions of Australians celebrate the annual holiday with beers and backyard barbecues or a day by the sea, and this year a broad heatwave was forecast to push the temperature in South Australian capital Adelaide to 45C.
Shark sightings forced people out of the water at several beaches in and around Sydney, however, after a string of shark attacks in the region this month — including one that led to the death of a 12-year-old boy.
Many activists describe the January 26, 1788, British landing as “Invasion Day,” a moment that ushered in a period of oppression, lost lands, massacres and Indigenous children being removed from their families.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples make up about four percent of the population.
They still have a life expectancy eight years shorter than other Australians, higher rates of incarceration and deaths in custody, steeper youth unemployment and poorer education.
- Anti-immigration protests -
“Let’s celebrate on another day, because everyone loves this country and everyone wants to celebrate. But we don’t celebrate on a mourning day,” Indigenous man Kody Bardy, 44, told AFP in Sydney.
Another Indigenous protester in Sydney, 23-year-old Reeyah Dinah Lotoanie, called for people to recognize that a genocide happened in Australia.
“Ships still came to Sydney and decided to kill so many of our people,” she said.
Separately, thousands of people joined anti-immigration “March for Australia” protests in several cities, with police in Melbourne mobilizing to keep the two demonstrations apart.
In Sydney, “March for Australia” protesters chanted, “Send them back.” Some carried banners reading: “Stop importing terrorists” or “One flag, one country, one people.”
“There’s nowhere for people to live now, the hospitals are full, the roads are full, you’ve got people living on the streets,” said one demonstrator, 66-year-old Rick Conners.
Several also held aloft placards calling for the release of high-profile neo-Nazi Joel Davis, who is in custody after being arrested in November on allegations of threatening a federal lawmaker.
“There will be no tolerance for violence or hate speech on Sydney streets,” New South Wales Premier Chris Minns told reporters.
“We live in a beautiful, multicultural community with people from around the world, but we will not tolerate a situation where on Australia’s national day, it’s being pulled down by divisive language, hate speech or racism,” he said.
“Police are ready and willing to engage with people that breach those rules.”
Latest updates
© 2026 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.