Reacting to revelation of new details in the mysterious Dr Shakil Afridi case, the United States has said it is seeking clarity on the basis of his conviction.
The State Department on Thursday said it was in contact with Pakistani officials, both in Washington and Islamabad, to clarify the issue after reports emerged that the doctor was handed down a lengthy 33-year imprisonment sentence not on account of his work for the CIA against al Qaeda but for his links with the banned militant organization, Lashkar-e-Islam.
“No, we’re actually seeking clarity on those latest reports. I’m aware of what you’re talking about, so we’ve raised those with the government of Pakistan. It seems to us to be – in to contrast previous reports about his conviction and the basis of it, so we’re trying to get clarity,” deputy spokesman at the State Department, Mark Toner said.
He was responding to questions on whether Washington was clear about the charges that became the basis for Afridi’s sentencing by a Pakistani tribal court.
The spokesman was unaware if the family of Dr Afridi – who ran a fake vaccination campaign to ascertain DNA samples of Osama bin Laden before the al Qaeda chief’s death last year – had approached the US officials for assistance on securing his release.
“I’m actually not sure that they’ve approached us requesting assistance. I mean, other than raising it very publicly, as we’ve done via Secretary [of State Hillary] Clinton, and raising it consistently in our meetings with Pakistani government officials, it’s unclear to me what else we could do for his case,” Toner said when his attention was drawn to a statement by Afridi’s brother that the US was not helping the doctor in the case. “But we certainly take it very seriously. The secretary was very clear in her remarks, saying that there’s not any basis for holding Dr Afridi,” he added.
US seeks clarity on ‘the Afridi mystery’
