PESHAWAR: A plan, for shifting of Dr Shakil Afridi from Central Jail Peshawar to Punjab, has been finalised and all the law enforcement agencies have been put on high alert to avert any untoward incident.

Official sources told Dawn.com that a special meeting, held on Monday in Peshawar with the concerned department and law enforcement agencies’ representatives, approved the formal shifting plan of Dr Shakil Afridi, convicted for 33 years in a treason case, which led to the killing of al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.

The sources said that it’s likely that Afridi might be shifted through a special helicopter provided by the interior ministry to a jail or fort in Punjab, which according to the sources have not been finalised but it might be the Attock Fort.

Fool-proof security arrangements have also been ordered for the shifting plan, which can happen any time, but no specific time frame has so far been finalised for security reasons.

The sources added that the provincial authorities have approved the plan for shifting Afridi, owing threats to his life form Taliban inmates of Central Jail Peshawar or attack on the jail like the one on Bannu Jail last month.

Banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Mehsud region chief Waliur Rehman had already threatened to execute Dr Shakil Afridi to avenge bin Laden’s killing a few days ago.

Earlier, Jamil Afridi, the brother of Dr Shakil Afridi, who is a teacher by profession told media representatives in Peshawar that his brother had not committed any crime but he had been made an escape goat in the Osama bin Laden case.

“The punishment awarded to Dr Shakil Afridi under the 40 FCR is unlawful. Neither can we meet him nor we can get the appeal documents signed from him,” said Jamil.

To a query he said: “We can not tell about Dr Shakil’s family as they are faced with security threats but we are not going to accept the verdict of APA and a few jirga members.”

The probable lawyers of Shakil Afridi, Ijaz and Samiullah Afridi on the occasion said that although the political authorities had not handed them copy of the verdict but they are planning to challenge the decision to the FCR Commissioner and the High Court as well.