Close X
Sunday, November 24, 2024
ADVT 
International

Pakistan Denies Identity Papers To Family Of Doctor Who Helped Trace Osama Bin Laden

Darpan News Desk IANS, 03 Feb, 2017 12:21 PM
    Pakistan has denied identity cards to the family of Shakeel Afridi, the jailed doctor believed to have helped the CIA hunt down Osama bin Laden in 2011, blocking college enrollment for his children, their lawyer said on Friday.
     
    Afridi was accused of treason after word spread that he had helped the CIA collect DNA samples of the bin Laden family, paving the way for a secret US Navy Seal raid that killed the al Qaeda leader in the town of Abbottabad. He was arrested days after the US operation – which Pakistan protested as a violation of sovereignty – and charged with aiding militants.
     
    Now his 19-year-old daughter and 21-year-old son have been denied national identity cards, essential documents for Pakistanis, said Qamar Nadeem, the family’s lawyer in the northwestern city of Peshawar. Nadeem said Afridi’s children required identity cards for college enrolment, but authorities refused to issue them because their father had been barred from leaving the country.
     
     
    “Afridi is in jail and his name has been put on the exit control list,” Nadeem said. “I don’t understand how he can escape from jail and leave the country.” The lawyer said he had received no response to his letters to the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), which issues the cards, and the interior ministry.
     
    “Getting an identity card is a fundamental right of every citizen and if NADRA or the interior ministry refuse to issue them, we will approach the Peshawar High Court for justice.” An interior ministry spokesman told Reuters it had not blocked the application. Reuters was unable to reach a representative of the database authority for comment.
     
    Last May, Pakistan’s foreign ministry angrily criticised US President Donald Trump for a comment during his election campaign that he could get Pakistan to free Afridi “within two minutes”. After Trump was inaugurated last month, Pakistan’s law minister vowed not to release Afridi despite any US pressure.
     
    Afridi’s wife Imrana Ghafoor has been living at a secret location with her two sons and a daughter, for security reasons. Afridi’s lawyers have also received threats from militant groups. One of his lawyers, Samiullah Afridi, was gunned down by unknown men in Peshawar in March 2015. Nadeem is now the sole lawyer willing to represent Afridi.
     
     
    Afridi, initially charged with having links to militant groups, was sentenced to a 33-year jail term, but his conviction was overturned in 2013. Pakistan then charged the doctor with the death of a patient dating from eight years earlier.

    MORE International ARTICLES

    Indian-origin Man Jailed For Money-Laundering In UK

    Indian-origin Man Jailed For Money-Laundering In UK
    Nirmal Tanna had been convicted by a jury at Leicester Crown Court in September 2016 in his absence on money laundering charges dating back to 2012.

    Indian-origin Man Jailed For Money-Laundering In UK

    Indo-US Ties Headed For Best Days Under Donald Trump: Supporters

    Indo-US Ties Headed For Best Days Under Donald Trump: Supporters
      Large number of Indian Americans country gathered in Washington to participate in Trump's inauguration

    Indo-US Ties Headed For Best Days Under Donald Trump: Supporters

    Indian-American Lawmakers Join Protest March Against Donald Trump

    Indian-American Lawmakers Join Protest March Against Donald Trump
    All the five Indian-Americans elected to the US Congress have joined the Women's March to protest against new US President Donald Trump's alleged anti-women policies.

    Indian-American Lawmakers Join Protest March Against Donald Trump

    Oxford University To Face Indian-Origin Student's Trial Over 'Appallingly Bad' Teaching Allegations

    Oxford University To Face Indian-Origin Student's Trial Over 'Appallingly Bad' Teaching Allegations
    Faiz Siddiqui, a modern history graduate, says he would have enjoyed a career as a top international commercial lawyer had he not been held back for obtaining a 2:1 grade when graduating in June 2000, reported the Daily Mail on Sunday.  

    Oxford University To Face Indian-Origin Student's Trial Over 'Appallingly Bad' Teaching Allegations

    Indian-Origin Mauritius PM Anerood Jugnauth Steps Down, Son To Take Over

    Indian-Origin Mauritius PM Anerood Jugnauth Steps Down, Son To Take Over
    Mauritius is set to have a new Prime Minister on Monday, two days after the 86-year-old Indian-origin Anerood Jugnauth resigned and handed over the post to his son.

    Indian-Origin Mauritius PM Anerood Jugnauth Steps Down, Son To Take Over

    Indian Diaspora Seeks Modi's Help Over Demonetised Currency

    Indian Diaspora Seeks Modi's Help Over Demonetised Currency
    The Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) has pointed out to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that diaspora Indians are being turned away by the RBI from depositing 

    Indian Diaspora Seeks Modi's Help Over Demonetised Currency