Administration submits original record to Fata Tribunal, at last

Dr Shakil Afridi case

Hearing fixed for Oct 20 as state lawyer remains absent

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Agency political administration finally submitted the original record of the Dr Shakil Afridi case in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) Tribunal after over two years here Tuesday as the case was adjourned this time due to absence of the state lawyer.

“The original record of the Dr Shakil Afridi case has been submitted and is on the case file of the tribunal,” his legal counsel Qamar Nadeem Afridi told The News.At the previous hearing, he said the political administration had only brought the record to the tribunal but did not submit it to the court. He said the record was taken back without submission after adjournment of the case.

“However, this time the record was on the case file, but the state lawyer was absent and the case was adjourned without any hearing,” he added.The Fata Tribunal comprising its chairman Sange Marjan Khan and members Hussainzada Khan and Atif Nazir decided to hear arguments about Dr Shakil Afridi’s petition on October 20, the next date of hearing.

“I waited for three hours for the state lawyer to appear before the tribunal, but he didn’t come and the case was adjourned the case without hearing,” Qamar Nadeem said.

The FCR commissioner, the appellate forum under the FCR, had on March 15, 2014 upheld the conviction of Dr Shakil Afridi for having links with the banned militant organisation Lashkar-i-Islam, headed by Mangal Bagh in Khyber Agency. It, however, reduced his original prison term awarded by the assistant political agent’s court from 33 to 23years. The fine was reduced from Rs320,000 to Rs220,000.

Dr Shakil Afridi challenged the decision of the commissioner by filing a review petition.The intelligence agencies took Dr Shakil Afridi into custody in May 2011 on suspicion of arranging a fake vaccination campaign at the behest of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Abbottabad to track down Osama bin Laden.

However, he was not convicted of that charge. In the decision, the FCR commissioner had also recommended to the government to try him on the charges of spying for the CIA in a proper court as he didn’t have jurisdiction to try him on these charges.

The assistant political agent, who is also the additional district magistrate of Bara, had first convicted Dr Shakil Afridi on May 23, 2012 for his involvement in anti-state activities by supporting the Lashkar-i-Islam. He was sentenced on different counts to a total of 33 years imprisonment with a fine of Rs320,000.

Dr Shakil Afridi claimed in the petition that he was denied the right to a fair trial and was convicted by the assistant political agent on flimsy grounds.The petitioner contended that the FCR commissioner had ignored several facts while upholding his conviction.

On the other hand, the US lawmakers continued the pressure on Pakistan in a bid to secure Dr Shakil Afridi’s release. First the US cut 33 million dollars from the aid being given to Pakistan over the 33 years conviction of Dr Shakil Afridi. Now reportedly the US lawmakers are considering further cutting aid to Pakistan to force it to release Dr Shakil Afridi.