Possible handing over of Dr Shakil Afridi to US

PHC puts on notice IG Prisons, superintendent jail

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Thursday put on notice the inspector general Prisons Department and superintendent Peshawar Central Prison in a writ petition filed against the expected handing over of Dr Shakil Afridi to the United States.

A two-member bench comprising Chief Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Abdul Shakoor heard the petition filed by former deputy attorney general Muhammad Khurshid Khan.

The petitioner sought the court’s directions for both the federal and provincial governments not to shift Dr Shakil Afridi to a foreign country or any other prison from Peshawar Central Prison, or inform the court before any such decision.

“We would think about it if a request is received from the US about Dr Shakil Afridi,” the lawyer quoted prime minister’s advisor on foreign affairs Sartaj Aziz in the writ petition.

In the past, he said that in violation of the country’s law the incumbent prime minister had gone to Saudi Arabia directly from the prison. He added that former President General (r) Pervez Musharraf had gone overseas despite the fact that various cases were pending against him in the courts and now he was flouting the rule of law from abroad.

Also, he pointed out that the rulers in the past had given benefit of Diyat law meant for Pakistani citizens to American citizen Raymond Davis in a murder case and handed him over to the US.

The petitioner said that once again the rulers under pressure might hand over Dr Shakil Afridi to the US.An appeal of Dr Shakil Afridi against his conviction is pending before the Fata Tribunal. He has challenged the upholding of his conviction by an appellate forum for having links with a militant outfit.

On March 15, 2014 the FCR commissioner, the appellate forum under the FCR, had upheld Dr Shakil Afridi’s conviction on the charge of having links to the banned militant organization, Lashkar-i-Islam, then operating in Bara tehsil in Khyber Agency. However, he reduced Dr Shakil Afridi’s original prison term awarded to him by the assistant political agent’s court from 33 years to 23 years and that of Rs320,000 fine to Rs220,000.

Dr Shakil Afridi was taken into custody in May 2011 by intelligence agencies on the suspicion of arranging a fake vaccination campaign in Abbottabad at the behest of the American CIA to track down Osama bin Laden. However, he wasn’t tried or convicted on that charge.