Dr Shakil Afridi’s counsel gunned down in Peshawar

PESHAWAR: Samiullah Afridi – the counsel for Dr Shakil Afridi, who helped the United States track down Osama bin Laden – was gunned down by unidentified attackers in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa capital on Tuesday.

Afridi was attacked by unidentified gunmen in Aslam Dheri area of Peshawar’s Mithra neighbourhood.

He recently returned to Pakistan after living abroad for three months. He had fled the country after receiving threats from militants. Samiullah Afridi was the second member of the legal team to flee following militant threats.

Jamaatul Ahrar – a splinter group of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has claimed responsibility for the killing.

Dr Shakil Afridi was arrested after US special forces killed bin Laden in May 2011 in the town of Abbottabad. Following the arrest, he was sentenced to 33 years in jail for membership of militant group Laskhar-e-Islam, an accusation he denies.

Later in 2014, his conviction was overturned due to ‘procedural errors’ and a retrial was ordered.

Dr Shakil Afridi has since been facing murder charges relating to the death of a patient nine years ago.

Investigation Report

According to the initial investigation report; two assailants ambushed Samiullah Afridi at approximately 6:35PM on Tuesday near Mathra which is approximately 40 kilometers from the provincial capital. Afridi sustained two bullets out of three there were fired. The report adds, that the attackers escaped to the tribal areas on an unmarked motorcycle.