Dr Afridi sentenced for his ‘love for Mangal Bagh’, not helping CIA

Dr Shakil Afridi was sentenced to 33 years in prison by the Khyber Agency political administration for alleged ties to warlord Mangal Bagh, not working for the CIA, according to the detailed verdict issued on Wednesday.
Afridi was sentenced to 33 years in prison by the Khyber Agency political administration under infamous black laws of the Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR) on the charges of links with banned Lashkar-e-Islam, involved in terrorist acts and practices.
According to the detailed the judgment against Dr Shakil Afridi issued by the Khyber agency assistant political agent, Afridi should be produced before the relevant/concerned court for further proceeding under the laws for his links with other foreign intelligence agencies.
Dr Afridi was held captive by banned Lashkar-e-Islam when he was serving as the medical superintendent at Civil Hospitral Dogra, Bara, during 2005-2007.
He was later freed after paying a ransom Rs 1 million.
He was again abducted some time later and again paid a ransom of Rs 800,000. Howeverm, the APA termed the ransom paid as donation inhis verdict. Even the hostage, Afridi, was declared a donor of the banned militant group.
A copy of the May 24 verdict said evidence that the accused acted “with other foreign intelligence agencies” could not be taken into account “for the lack of jurisdiction” in the tribal belt.
Instead, it recommended the evidence “be produced before the relevant concerned court for further proceedings under the law”, raising the prospect that Afridi could yet face another trial for treason. The court order said Afridi had “close links” to Lashkar-e-Islam and the doctor’s “love” for the group’s leader Mangal Bagh “and association with him was an open secret”.
It said the accused provided two million rupees ($22,000) to Lashkar-e-Islam and helped provide medical assistance to militant commanders in Khyber.
Officials in Khyber Agency refused to elaborate. Mutahir Zeb Khan, the top administrator, only said: “Reasons given in the judgement are very clear and that’s it.”
On Tuesday, doctor Fuwad Khan, director general of health services in the tribal belt, refuted a smear campaign that Afridi was corrupt and a womaniser.
“There was no complaint against him on the record so no inquiry has ever been conducted as per the official record,” he told AFP.
The verdict also said that despite being a government servant, Afridi preached “the ideology of the defunct organization publicly; an ideology based on hatred, arousing the contempt of the general public against the government of Pakistan”.
“These statements of the people (Ex-E,F,G,Q,R) delineate the involvement of the accused wherein he preferred to serve under Mangal Bagh rather than the government of Pakistan such kind of actions were inciting other public servants to side with defunct LI…”
The verdict said that local jirga and witnesses had confirmed that militant commanders “used to visit the hospital at their will and held meetings with the accused in his hospital in isolation while all the other people were forced to leave the premises of the facility. These meetings were usually of longer duration and most often, these meeting were followed by attacks by militants on security forces checkposts and other places…”