Who is Shakil Afridi, doctor who helped CIA hunt Osama bin Laden?
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Pakistani physician Shakil Afridi Photograph: (AFP)
Shakil Afridi, hailed as a hero in the US has been languishing in jail in his country Pakistan for years.
The Pakistani delegation on its visit to the United States has been asked by US Congressman Brad Sherman to take decisive action against the terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and release Dr Shakil Afridi, a Pakistani physician imprisoned for assisting the CIA in locating Osama bin Laden.
"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," posted Sherman on microblogging site X.
Early life of Afridi
According to National Geographic, Afridi finished his graduation from Khyber Medical College in Peshawar in 1990 and served as the senior health official of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.
Later he went on to co-own a private clinic near the Khyber Pass. In 2008, a bus driver turned commander of a Pakistani militant group, Lashkar-e-Islam abducted Afridi. A ransom of PKR 1 million was given to the abductor by Afridi's family to secure his release.
Soon after being released, Afridi left for the US with his family. However, he returned to Pakistan by late 2009, the National Geographic report states.
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Shakil Afridi and Osama bin Laden connection
Afridi is seen as a hero in the US but has been languishing in jail in his country Pakistan for years.
He helped the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) run a covert polio vaccination programme in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to collect DNA samples of bin Laden’s family.
Shortly after the CIA raided Bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad in May 2011, based on inputs, Pakistani authorities arrested Afridi. Later a local court sentenced him to 33 years in prison.
Abbottabad is bout 160 kilometres west of Peshawar, Pakistan.