Over three years have passed since Dr Shakil Afridi, a former agency surgeon of Khyber tribal region, was taken into custody by an intelligence agency on charges of supporting the American CIA in tracking down Osama bin Laden by conducting a fake vaccination campaign in Abbottabad. However, the charges under which he has presently been behind bars are altogether different.

He was convicted by an assistant political agent in 2012 for having links with the proscribed Lashkar-i-Islam, a Bara-based militant outfit. The court had found him guilty of conspiring to wage war against the country, concealing existence of a plan to wage war against Pakistan and condemnation of the creation of the State. In March 2014 the commissioner Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR), which is the appellate forum under the Regulation, upheld his conviction.

Dr Afridi preferred a revision petition before the Fata tribunal, the third and last judicial forum available under the FCR, but the case has been lingering on without any noteworthy progress.

On several occasions the tribunal issued directives to the political agent of Khyber Agency and the FCR commissioner to produce relevant record so as to proceed further in the petition, but in vain. The representative of the political agent had been requesting for adjournments of the petition on flimsy grounds.

Apparently, the quarters concerned, including the intelligence agencies, want to drag the issue, while the authorities are shy of trying him for the original offence he was arrested for, supporting the American CIA. On Nov 20 when the tribunal chaired by Mr Shah Wali Khan and having Pir Fida and Akber Khan as its members took up for hearing the petition as usual it was informed that record was not available. The tribunal gave another warning to the political agent and fixed Dec 18 for next hearing.

One major issue with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government regarding Dr Shakil Afridi is his security. Presently, he has been detained at the Peshawar Central Prison. Over a dozen of times the provincial home department has requested the federal government to shift him to any other province.

Recently, Dr Afridi again started hitting headlines as several conflicting media reports appeared regarding his shifting from the Peshawar Central Prison. While, Dr Afridi is still in Peshawar some media outlets reported that he was shifted to a newly-constructed high security prison at Mardan.

Early this year the US Congress had passed a bill withholding a portion of financial assistance to Pakistan until Pakistan releases Dr Afridi from prison and clear him of the charges. President Barack Obama on Jan 17 signed the $1.1 trillion spending bill, which also included putting certain conditions on continuation of US aid to Pakistan. It included withholding $33 million assistance until Pakistan releases Dr Afridi from prison.

The case of Dr Afridi has taken several twists and turns. The APA in his capacity as additional district magistrate had convicted him on May 23, 2012 and sentenced him on different counts to 33 years imprisonment. About the charges of assisting the US, the APA, in his order, stated: “Though the JIT contains evidence of the involvement of accused in activities wherein he has been shown acting with other foreign intelligence agencies, all this evidence could not be taken into account for the lack of jurisdiction and with the recommendation that it may be produced before the relevant court for further proceedings under the law.”

The said judgment of the APA was challenged on behalf of Dr Afridi by his brother Jamil Afridi before the court of FCR commissioner who set aside his conviction by the APA and remanded the case to the political agent. The FCR commissioner had delivered a single-page judgment in Aug 2013 wherein he did not mention any specific legal ground for remanding back the case for re-trial.

As the commissioner had not passed clear orders, it was challenged before the Fata Tribunal, the third and final judicial forum under the FCR, which on Dec 18, 2013 remanded the case back to the FCR commissioner with the direction to pronounce a clear order regarding his trial by the political agent on charges of having links with a militant organisation.

The FCR commissioner then upheld his conviction, but reduced his prison term to 23 years from 33. Another interesting aspect of the commissioner’s verdict was that it directed the political agent of Khyber Agency to prepare a case against the doctor over his involvement in anti-state activities in collusion with foreign intelligence agencies, for further proceedings before the competent court. The FATA tribunal has now been hearing the petition filed against that verdict of the commissioner.

Experts on the subject believe that the case of Dr Afridi should be referred to a regular court which should try him for the original charges under which he was taken into custody. They said that Dr Afridi had been portrayed as a US agent by the intelligence agencies, but so far the authorities were reluctant to bring his case before a regular judicial forum.

Published in Dawn, November 24th , 2014