Pakistani doctor who helped track and kill Osama bin Laden starts hunger strike in prison

The Pakistani doctor who helped the CIA track and kill Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has launched a hunger strike from his prison cell, his lawyer and his family said on Monday. Shakeel Afridi has been languishing behind bars for years since his bogus vaccination program helped U.S. agents track down and kill the Al Qaeda leader in 2011.

"It is to protest against the injustices and inhuman attitudes committed against him and his family," his brother Jamil Afridi told AFP after meeting Afridi in a prison in central Punjab. His lawyer Qamar Nadeem also confirmed the hunger strike. Shakeel Afridi was imprisoned for 33 years in May 2012 after being found guilty of having links to terrorists, a charge he has always denied. His sentence was then reduced by 10 years. Some American lawmakers have called the case revenge for his help in the search for the leader of Al-Qaeda.

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The murder of Bin Laden in 2011 caused massive embarrassment in Pakistan and in particular its powerful soldiers. For years, Afridi has had no access to his lawyer, while his appeal against his prison sentence has stalled, court appearances have been repeatedly delayed. His family has also complained that he has been targeted and harassed by the authorities over the years.

US President Donald Trump has sworn during his election campaign that he will order Pakistan to release Afridi, but since taking office he has remained largely silent on the matter. The comments sparked a meteoric rebuttal from Pakistan, whose interior minister at the time called Trump ignorant and said that "the government of Pakistan and not Donald Trump" would decide the fate of 39; Afridi. In recent years, Pakistani authorities have cracked down on non-profit organizations and forced them to leave the country, which analysts say was largely linked to the Afridi affair due to fears of the affair. 39; security establishment that NGOs provide cover for espionage.

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Imran Khan's claim

Considered an enemy by many in his country, Dr. Shakil Afridi helped the CIA track down the then most wanted terrorist in Abbottabad, Pakistan. In order to find the hideout of the head of Al-Qaeda, the doctor launched a vaccination campaign against hepatitis B in areas near Abbottabad to determine the DNA of the terrorist.

However, in July of last year, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, during his first state visit to the United States, claimed that it was the ISI that had provided information to the CIA, which then spotted the intelligence agency to locate Bin Laden. In an interview with Fox News, when asked if his government would release the imprisoned Pakistani surgeon Shakeel Afridi, he said: "This is Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) who provided the information that led to the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden. If you ask the CIA that it was the ISI who gave the original location via the telephone connection. "

Answering questions, Khan was reluctant to commit to releasing Pakistani doctor Afridi, even though US President Trump had apparently called for his release. Imran Khan said that the release of Afridi is an "emotional problem" for Pakistan because in the country he is considered a spy for the United States. "We in Pakistan have always felt that we were an ally of the United States and if we had been given information about Osama, we should have withdrawn it," he said.

Khan also said he would be willing to consider releasing Afridi in return for Pakistani neuroscientist Aafia Siddiqui, who is serving an 86-year US prison sentence after his conviction in 2010 for shooting agents and soldiers from the FBI. "So we could negotiate some sort of exchange," said Khan, adding that it was not raised when he met President Trump in the White House on Monday. Negotiations for the Afridi and Siddiqui exchange may take place in the future, he said. "We can negotiate. I mean, no negotiation has started," said Khan.

(With PTI inputs)

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