Dawn
reported that a plan to shift Doctor
Shakeel Afridi from Central Jail
Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to
Punjab has been finalised on May
28 and all the Law Enforcement Agencies
have been put on high alert to avert
any untoward incident. Official
sources told Dawn that a
special meeting held in Peshawar
with the concerned department and
LEA’s representatives, approved
the formal shifting plan of Doctor
Shakil Afridi, convicted for 33
years in a treason case, which led
to the killing of al Qaeda leader
Osama bin Laden. The sources said
that it’s likely that Afridi might
be shifted through a special helicopter
provided by the Interior Ministry
to a jail or fort in Punjab, which
according to the sources has not
been finalised.
Separately,
the family of Doctor Afridi came
out to defend him as his brother
Jamil Afridi said the charges against
him were ‘a pack of lies’. “Our
brother has been made a scapegoat,”
said Jamil Afridi, adding, “Everybody
knew where Osama was”. “He is not
a spy. This allegation from our
Security Agencies is fabricated
and baseless,” Jamil added. Jamil
said they are not allowed to meet
him and they have not been allowed
to give him access to legal councils.
“We want to meet him to get his
signature on a letter of attorney
as a panel of lawyers is preparing
to file an appeal against his conviction.”
Jamil Afridi called on the Chief
Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry
to intervene directly to allow a
swift appeal. "I appeal on
the Chief Justice to provide us
security and help us exercise our
right of appeal," Jamil said.
Meanwhile,
General Secretary of the Peace Movement,
a civil society group against militancy
Samiullah Afridi said that Doctor
Shakeel has done nothing illegal,
reports The News. The actual
reason behind the verdict could
only be known once we are provided
with a copy, he said. "We have
requested the administration to
provide us with the documents related
to the trial and conviction, and
once we get them, we will file an
appeal in the office of the commissioner
of the Frontier Crimes Regulation
(FCR)," the lawyer said. |
