The United States had nominated Dr Shakeel Afridi, the Pakistani medic who helped the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in hunting down al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, for a Congressional Gold Medal, the country’s highest civilian honour. Dana Rohrabacher, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, has introduced a bill in the House of Representatives to recognise Dr Afridi’s services with the Congressional Gold Medal, and declare him a US citizen.
Dr Afridi had set up a fake hepatitis immunisation campaign in an attempt to obtain DNA from bin Laden’s children and confirm the al Qaeda chief’s presence in the area. On the other hand, the masses and political leaders across Pakistan have criticised the US decision to reward the person who put the sovereignty of his country at stake. The Pakistani politicians were of the view that the US policy to award all those who work against Pakistan’s interests and favour US agenda would send negative signals and not help in improving bilateral relations.
