Shakil Afridi is the victim?

Dhaka Times Desk What has been revealed in the media so far is that Shakil Afridi, the Pakistani doctor who helped the US find Osama bin Laden, was convicted for his involvement with the militant group Lashkar-e-Islam, not for his ties to the CIA. This is what Pakistani officials said in a court document. But is it really so? Or has Shakil Afridi been the victim?

The news agency Reuters said that it has recently received this information after examining the document. Last week, a court in the Khyber tribal region on the Afghan border sentenced Afridi to 33 years in prison. Western media reported that he was convicted of treason for helping the CIA track down Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.

But according to court documents released to the media on May 30, Afridi was sentenced to prison on charges of having close links with the banned militant group Lashkar-e-Islam. The militant group has declared war on its own country, Pakistan.

However, it is not yet clear why some Pakistani officials initially said Afridi was being punished for aiding the CIA. Analysts believe that Pakistan may have wanted its anti-American citizens to understand that they did not accept any relationship with American spies during the strained Islamabad-Washington relationship. Meanwhile, Pakistani militant organization Lashkar-e-Islam has denied any relationship with doctor Shakeel Afridi. The organization also said that he will be killed if given a chance. The court convicted Shakeel Afridi not for working with the CIA but for his links with Lashkar-e-Islam.

The court verdict said that Shakeel had close ties with the militant outfit, and that Shakeel's 'love' and association with the outfit's chief Mangal Bagh was an 'open secret'. However, a commander of Lashkar-e-Islam said that they have no relation with Shakeel. The commander, who did not wish to be named, said, "We have nothing to do with such shameless people." We will chew him to death if we see him. The court said Afridi gave Rs 20 lakh to Lashkar-e-Islam and helped provide medical aid to militant commanders in Khyber. However, the commander said the money was a fine imposed on him for extorting more money from patients. He said Afridi and his fellow doctors were extorting extra money from tribal people. In return they were giving them fake medicines and doing fake operations. We get many complaints against them and we levy a fine of Rs 20 lakh on them. Locals also said Afridi used to perform unnecessary operations at his own clinic in the city and Bagh Shakil fined Afridi for extorting extra money.