ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office protested on Monday the US legislation linking American assistance to the release of Dr Shakil Afridi, the physician who helped CIA hunt Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.

“We are disappointed that the bill proposes to withhold $33 million from assistance on account of Dr Shakil Afridi’s detention,” the Foreign Office said in a statement after the opposition in Senate derided the government for remaining silent over the US legislation.

President Obama had accorded his assent to the Consolidated Appropriations Bill 2014 on Friday following its approval by the US Congress. The legislation required Pakistan to release Dr Shakil Afridi, failing which the Obama administration was directed to withhold $33m in annual assistance.

The FO said that Dr Afridi was a citizen of Pakistan, who violated the country’s laws and damaged the campaign against polio. Dr Afridi, it noted, remained entitled to due process under the law.

“Consequently, any linkage of US assistance to this case is not in keeping with the spirit of cooperation between the two countries,” the statement said.

The Foreign Office said that Pakistan and the United States were building a close and cooperative relationship based on mutual respect and mutual interest and hoped that the process would continue in a constructive manner.

Adviser on Foreign Affairs and National Security Sartaj Aziz is travelling to the United States for a ministerial meeting of the Strategic Dialogue.

SENATE: Earlier, Leader of the House in Senate Raja Zafarul Haq, while responding to PPP Parliamentary Leader Raza Rabbani’s point of order, had assured the house that the Foreign Office had been directed to issue a statement on the matter in accordance with the wishes of people.