Dr Shakil Afridi expected hand-over to US: PHC seeks reply from Ministry of Interior

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Thursday directed Ministry of Interior secretary to submit reply in a writ petition against the expected hand-over of Dr Shakil Afridi to the United States.

A two-member bench comprising Chief Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Muhammad Ayub issued notice to secretary Interior, directing to submit reply to the questions raised in the petition before the next hearing.

The bench was hearing the petition filed by a senior lawyer, Muhammad Khurshid Khan. He had 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 jail from Peshawar Central Prison, or inform the court before any such decision.

The petition was filed in 2017 after rumours surfaced that the doctor might be sent abroad and handed over to the US government.

During the course of hearing, the petitioner submitted before the court that Dr Shakil Afridi could be shifted to one place or prison to another in the country, but his handover to the United States would be a violation of law of the land.

The petitioner submitted that Shakil Afridi was convicted for links with terrorists and is a Pakistani citizen. How another country was demanding for a jailed prisoner of Pakistan, he asked.

Dr Shakil Afridi, a former agency surgeon of Khyber Agency, who was taken into custody in May 22, 2011 on suspicion of helping Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to trace Osama bin Laden through a fake vaccination campaign in Abbottabad.

He was imprisoned in the Central Prison Peshawar since his conviction by an assistant political agent on charges of having links with a banned outfit in 2012, has been shifted, reportedly, to Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi by the security forces.

The petitioner has sought direction from the high court for the federal and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments not to send abroad Dr Shakil Afridi till a final disposal of the petition.

He has prayed the court to issue directives that permission from the high court should be taken if Dr Afridi had to be sent abroad.

The petitioner claimed that he had come to know that the then adviser to the former prime minister on foreign affairs had said that if the US government requested them, then Pakistan government could consider hand-over of Dr Afridi to it.

He alleged that Dr Afridi had carried out a fake vaccination drive and provided all information to the Americans that resulted into attack on Pakistan and killing of Osama bin Laden by them.

In the past, he said, that in violation of the country’s law the ousted 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, the petitioner pointed out that the rulers in the past had given benefit of Diyat law meant for Pakistani citizens to American citizen Raymond Davis in double-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.