Shashi Tharoor slams Pakistan for punishing 'brave' Dr Shakil Afridi who helped US locate Osama bin Laden

In a sharp criticism, Indian politician Shashi Tharoor, who is leading an all-party delegation for Operation Sindoor outreach, slammed Pakistan for its treatment of Dr Shakil Afridi, the physician who helped the US locate and eliminate Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. His remarks came in response to a post by US Congressman Brad Sherman, who urged a visiting Pakistani to press for Dr Afridi’s release.

Sherman took to the social media platform x and wrote, “I urged the Pakistani delegation to relay to their government the need to free Dr Shakil Afridi, who continues to languish in prison for helping the United States kill Osama Bin Laden. Freeing Dr Afridi represents an important step in bringing closure for victims of 9/11.”

Tharoor responded to the post and wrote, “A welcome reminder by Rep. @BradSherman that Pakistan is the country that not only sheltered terrorist mastermind Osama Bin Laden (in a safe house near an army camp in a cantonment city!) but also arrested and punished the brave doctor who identified his location for the Americans. In Pakistan, you are rewarded for promoting terrorism and persecuted for exposing terrorists!”

Who is Dr Shakil Afridi?

Dr Shakil Afridi - a Pakistani doctor - helped the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) during the search for al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden after the 9/11 attack.

He graduated from Khyber Medical College in Peshawar in 1990 and served as the senior health official of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.

'We host G20, Pakistan hosts T20-top 20 terrorists'

Earlier, Priyanka Chaturvedi, a member of the all-party delegation for Operation Sindoor outreach, drew a stark difference between India and Pakistan while speaking in London. The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader said India focuses on global trade and diplomacy, but Islamabad is relentlessly using terrorism as a tool.

“We had a very successful presidency of the G20. While we host the G20, Pakistan hosts the T20, the top 20 terrorists of the world," she said.

She further said that "the top terrorists will be found being hosted by the Pakistani state government. It's their stated policy."

"You must go back home and see the documentary on how Osama bin Laden was taken out of Pakistan. He was hidden, actively financed, aided, trained, and supported, hidden from their so-called ally, the US. They shake hands with you, but they bite you on your back,” the MP added.