PESHAWAR: Authorities in Peshawar have finalised arrangements to transfer high profile prisoners, including Dr Shakil Afridi, from Central Prison to a high security prison in Mardan.

Well-placed sources told Dawn that arrangements had been finalised for shifting another high-profile prisoner Niaz Muhammad, who is currently held in Haripur jail, to the prison in Mardan which is bomb-proof and has been built on modern lines.

The earlier request of the provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to shift Dr Afridi from Peshawar jail to a safer place fell on deaf ears.

Dr Afridi had allegedly helped the CIA by running a fake vaccination campaign in Abbottabad a month before the US forces raid on a compound that killed Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in 2011.

He was sentenced to 33 years in prison and fined Rs320,000 on charges of colluding with Lashkar-i-Islam (LI) and its chief Mangal Bagh in 2012.

However, the tribal court had not entertained evidence relating to Afridi’s involvement with the CIA, citing lack of jurisdiction.

His sentence was overturned last year in August and a retrial was ordered. Earlier this year in March, the Commissioner of Frontier Crimes Regulation reduced his conviction by 10 years and also reduced the fine by Rs 1 million.

Explore: Shakil Afridi case: Commissioner FCR reduces sentence by 10 years