PESHAWAR: A court in Pakistan on Saturday reduced by 10 years the jail term handed down to a Pakistani doctor who helped the United States track down Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, in a blow to his supporters who have been fighting for his release.
Shakil Afridi, hailed as a hero by US officials, was arrested after US soldiers killed Bin Laden in May 2011 in a raid in a northern Pakistani town that outraged Pakistan and plunged relations between the strategic partners to a new low.
Pakistan arrested Afridi and sentenced him to 33 years in jail for being a member of a militant group, a charge he denies.
On Saturday, a court in the city of Peshawar reduced his sentence to 23 years following repeated calls by the United States and his legal team for his release.
“We will receive a complete court order on Monday and will then challenge it at the FATA Tribunal,” said Afridi’s lawyer, Qamar Nadeem, referring to a higher tribal court.
Afridi has become a new irritant in the complex ties between Washington and Islamabad that have been deteriorating over past years despite Pakistan’s pivotal role to US interests in Afghanistan, counter-terrorism and nuclear security.
The day after Afridi was sentenced, the US Senate expressed its anger by voting to dock Islamabad $33 million in aid — $1 million for every year of the term.
Pakistan has accused the doctor of running a fake vaccination campaign in which he collected DNA samples to help the US Central Intelligence Agency track down Bin Laden.
Sentence of Pakistani doctor who helped find Bin Laden reduced
Sentence of Pakistani doctor who helped find Bin Laden reduced
