US links issuance of $33 mn aid with Dr Shakil Afridi's release
U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a $1.1 trillion spending bill on Wednesday.
WASHINGTON (Dunya News) – The U.S. lawmakers have set condition that Pakistan will receive $33 million only after release of Shakil Afridi, the doctor who helped CIA track Osama Bin Laden.
The decision was taken by Republicans and Democrats unanimously.
They have also demanded withdrawal of the allegations leveled against Dr. Shakil Afridi.
Shakeel Afridi was arrested after US troops killed bin Laden in May 2011 in the town of Abbottabad. Islamabad branded the raid a violation of sovereignty and US relations fell to an all-time low.
Afridi was recruited by the CIA to run a vaccination programme in Abbottabad in the hope of obtaining DNA samples to identify bin Laden, although medics never managed to gain access to the family.
He was convicted of treason under Pakistan s tribal justice system in 2012 -- not for working for the CIA, for which the court said it had no jurisdiction -- but for alleged ties to militant group Lashkar-e-Islam.
Afridi had been found guilty under the tribal justice system of his home district of Khyber, part of Pakistan s semi-autonomous tribal belt. He was jailed for 33 years and fined $3,500.
