Negotiations to release Shakil Afridi – the doctor who helped the CIA pinpoint Usama Bin Laden – have gained momentum the past few weeks and he could be released as early as May, Fox News reported citing multiple sources.
Afridi has been languishing in a Pakistani jail for five-and-a-half years. According to an Islamabad official, talks about Afridi’s possible release gained steam toward the end of last year and there has been a renewed willingness to figure out an appropriate time and means to have the doctor – who is said to be declining in health – discharged.
Another well-placed source, a US intelligence government contractor, told Fox News that there is a lot of “backroom dealing” between Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the Pakistan Army on the matter. The two parties are negotiating concessions, with a release possible in around three to four months. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the newly-appointed ISI Chief, Naveed Mukhtar, are said to have both asked for immunity for Afridi. But before that could move forward it needs approval from the Army Chief of Operations, Gen. Waseem Ashraf.
The former military leader, Gen. Raheel Sharif, retired late last year and the power shift now to Ashraf has delayed the process.
“Ultimately, Gen. Ashraf decides Afridi’s status,” the source noted.
The widely-hailed doctor was arrested on treason charges just weeks after the spectacular May, 2011 raid in which Navy SEALs took out the world’s most wanted man. He was later sentenced to 33 years for having militant group connections.
Apparently we have Nawaz Sharifs in the Army too.
Dr Shakil Afridi spied against Osama Bin Laden, not against Pakistan. Even then, Pakistan punished him. This is because Pakistan loves all sorts of Islamic terrorists, loves, trains, funds and shelters them. THEN, Pakistan also claims to fight against terrorism. This is a mental sickness.
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