One year after being sentenced to 33 years rigorous imprisonment, Dr Shakil Afridi was allowed to receive his family in Central Jail Peshawar late on Wednesday evening.
Amidst tight security and presence of personnel from law enforcement and secret agencies, Afridi’s wife and two children were escorted to his cell in Peshawar jail for a half hour meeting.
According to an official, the family was very emotional at the reunion and they were unable to control their tears and sentiments.
Afridi’s brother Jamil Afridi and a few close relatives had also accompanied his wife and children but they were denied entrance to the jail premises. A schoolteacher in Peshawar, Afridi’s brother has been involved in legal battles for the release of his brother.
Afridi was sentenced by the political administration of Khyber Agency on the charge of helping US secret agencies in finding al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden who had been hiding in Pakistan through a fraudulent polio vaccination campaign. Afridi’s brother has filed an appeal against the decision before the commissioner, Peshawar Division.