PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Wednesday directed the provincial home department to allow brother to meet Dr Shakil Afridi, a Pakistani doctor imprisoned for having links with militants, in accordance with the relevant law.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Mohammad Daud Khan disposed of a petition filed by Dr Shakil’s brother, Jamil Khan Afridi, with the observation that if the superintendent of the prison didn’t allow anyone to meet his imprisoned relative, he had to give valid reason for that.

The order was issued on completion of arguments by the lawyer for petitioners, Abdul Lateef Afridi, and additional advocate general Qaisar Ali Shah.

Despite repeated requests, the petitioner has not been allowed by the provincial government to meet Dr Shakil in the Peshawar central prison since Aug 2012 when a controversial interview of Dr Shakil appeared on website of American TV channel.

Abdul Lateef Afridi said his client had last time met Dr Shakil at the central prison on Aug 28, 2012, following which he had not been permitted by the government to meet his brother.

He said the provincial government had not been allowing the siblings of Dr Shakil to meet him, which was an act of discrimination.

The lawyer said despite repeated applications the provincial government had not allowing his meeting.

He requested the court that the petitioner may be permitted to the meet his brother.

AAG Qaisar Shah contended that the provincial home department had issued an order on Jun 24, 2013, under which the wife and children of Dr Shakil were permitted to meet him once a month. He added that the superintendent of the prison was empowered under the law to allow or deny meeting of any person with a prisoner.

Lateef Afridi asked why there were different standards for Dr Shakil and other prisoners.

He said how the prison superintendent could decide that wife and children could meet Dr Shakil but his siblings couldn’t.

The bench observed that if the superintendent did not allow a prisoner to meet relatives, he had to give cogent reason for that and without any cogent reason, he could not act in such a manner.

Dr Shakil was taken into custody by an intelligence agency in May 2011 in suspicion of helping the American CIA in tracking down Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden by conducting a fake vaccination campaign. He has presently been undergoing 23-year prison term.

Published in Dawn, June 4th, 2015

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