US lawmaker wants CIA’s Dr Afridi as American hero

Pakistan considers Dr Shakil Afridi as a traitor for helping the infamous American CIA, the U.S. Congressman Dana Rohrabacher has tabled a resolution in the House of Representatives seeking support to declare Afridi as a hero for serving American interests.

Dr Afridi had been working with the US Central Intelligence Agency for years before the U.S. launched an unilateral raid to kill Osama Bin Laden raid in Abbotabad.

He was accused of conducting a fake vaccination campaign to reach Osama’s children.

Afridi, who belongs to Khyber agency and now languishing in Peshawar central prison, helped the agency reaches Osama after which he was sentenced to 33 years in prison last year in May for his links to a banned militant group.

Rohrabacher, famous for his anti-Pakistan approach, in a statement said the resolution expressed that Dr Afridi is an ‘American hero’ and should be immediately released from Pakistani custody.

The statement said that Americans owe Dr Afridi a debt for helping find former al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

Congressman Rohrabacher said that Dr Afridi and his family have “paid a terrible price at the hands of our so-called allies – the Pakistani government. We cannot continue to turn our back on Dr Afridi. He risked his life to provide the intel our forces needed to locate and eliminate Osama bin Laden and he now languishes in a Pakistani prison serving a 33-year sentence.

“He has been tortured, his family has been attacked and he is still in a desperate situation. It behooves us as Americans to state in a unified voice to his Pakistani captors, Dr Afridi should be freed.”

The sponsors of the resolution include Representatives Bachmann, Gerlach, Higgins, Hunter, Lummis, Poe, Salmon, Loretta Sanchez and Stockman, the statement added.

Congressman Rohrabacher has previously introduced bills calling for Balochis to be given right of self-determination, and for Dr Afridi to be given the Congressional Gold Medal.

Pakistan has rejected calls for his handover to the U.S., saying that he has been sentenced under the country’s laws.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=38652

Posted by Tahir Khan on Feb 28 2013. Filed under Latest News, National, Pakistan, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.