PESHAWAR: The Fata tribunal on Thursday adjourned hearing into the petition of Dr Shakil Afridi against the upholding of conviction by an appellate forum for links with an outlawed militant organisation.

The adjournment came after the Khyber Agency’s political agent once again failed to produce the sought-after record.

The tribunal consisting of chairman Shah Wali Khan and members Pir Fida and Akbar Khan fixed the next hearing for Nov 20 asking the political agent to ensure production of the record of the case before that.

Lawyer for the petitioner Qamar Nadeem and Dr Shakil’s brother Jamil Afridi told reporters here that it was the sixth time that hearing into the case had been adjourned due to non-production of record.

Khyber political agent fails to produce record yet again

They said at the start of the hearing, the tribunal told them about adjournment of the case.

The record is of Dr Shakil’s trial by an assistant political agent and of Dr Shakil’s appeal against his sentence with the court of the Frontier Crimes Regulation commissioner.

On March 15, the FCR commissioner had upheld the conviction of Dr Shakil, who is also suspected of helping the American CIA track down Osama bin Laden through a fake vaccination campaign but reduced the sentence given by the APA court from 33 years to 23 years imprisonment and fine from Rs320,000 to Rs220,000.

The tribunal also adjourned hearing into a petition of the Khyber Agency administration against the FCR commissioner’s decision to reduce the sentence.

Jamil Afridi said he had been trying to meet his brother for two years but the government had not been permitting him.

He said he had also filed a writ petition before the Peshawar High Court in Jan 2013 requesting the court to deny meeting with Dr Shakil, but that petition had still been pending without noteworthy progress.

Jamil said the wife and children met Dr Shakil in prison on the occasion of Eidul Azha and that they had told him that Dr Shakil was in good health.

He said he had been suffering from anxiety because for six months, the administration had not been producing the record delaying the decision on his brother’s petition.

Against the verdict of the commissioner Dr Afridi has filed the revision petition before Fata Tribunal, which is the third and final judicial forum provided under the FCR.

The petitioner has contended the commissioner had ignored several facts while upholding the conviction of the petitioner.

He added that he was denied the right to fair trial and was convicted by the APA on flimsy grounds.

The petitioner said earlier, the tribunal had sent back the case to the FCR commissioner for clarifying certain points but instead of doing the needful, the commissioner upheld the APA court’s decision.

Dr Shakil was picked up allegedly by an intelligence agency in May 2011 on suspicion of helping the American CIA to trace Osama bin Laden. However, he was not convicted on that charge.

The APA and additional district magistrate convicted him on May 23, 2012 for being involved in anti-state activities by supporting the Bara-based Lashkar-i-Islam, and sentenced him on different counts to 33 years imprisonment and Rs320,000 fine.

Published in Dawn, October 24th, 2014