After jailing Kashmiri lobbyist Fai, US is being fussy over its CIA agent?

[AbhimanyuShrivastav]

My point here is that the 'act of lobbying' and the 'means of lobbying employed by Fai' were legal and allowed under US law - the 'crime' was the 'lack of declaration and registration'. This is sort of analogous to 'driving a car is legal, but driving a car without registering it and/or no valid driving license is illegal'.

In the case of Afridi, the act he engaged in, unauthorized knowing collaboration with a foreign intelligence agency inside Pakistan, is illegal.

Not entirely true.. Both the act and means were illegal. The act because it was a masqueraded lobbying. and the means because they were undeclared funds from Pakistani govt/ISI.

Now I could take your car analogy to Dr Afridi as well.. I mean he was employed by a foreign entity.. The same foreign entity employes hundreds of Pakistanis in Pakistan already.. The only difference here was that Dr Afridi did not register his employment (of CIA) with the Govt of Pakistan... Similar to not taking a licence ?? eh?

 

[Dance]

I don't know why Pakistan isn't doing more to highlight this?

 

[Secur]

Just admit you were knowingly harboring Bin Laden.

Whilst handing over hundreds of high value of AQ and Taliban leaders to US for 10 years , yeah right !

Not entirely true.. Both the act and means were illegal. The act because it was a masqueraded lobbying. and the means because they were undeclared funds from Pakistani govt/ISI.

Fai was just receiving funding from ISI and jailed for " not declaring it " , all lobbyists do so , he wasn't providing any sensitive information to ISI !

Just for the problem that Afridi knew what he was doing , you cant search for a DNA match without knowing the real one right ?
The difference is that he provided knowingly and with malice aforethought information to a foreign spy agency instead of his own - Big Difference ! Even if he didn't know that they were looking for Osama , that makes his case worse since he unknowingly would have passed some very sensitive information to CIA which could endanger the security of his country !

The law didn't punish him for the " end result " or " unintended consequence " ... Just for treason ...

A case made under Tribal laws. Yes, how well that goes with delivering justice, we all know!

The first part of your statement contradicts the latter part, when taken in context. Individuals routinely help "foreign agencies" -NGOs, charity work etc. Did the doctor know he was working for CIA specifically? If he did, then, something is wrong on so manylevels!!

The point being, again, did the Dr. know he was working for the CIA? If so, there are so many things wrong on so many levels.!

Who are you to tell us what to try him under ? Our Country Our Laws !

Individuals routinely provide sensitive information to foreign spy agencies , help them find a target without notifying their own Govt and intelligence agencies ? Where exactly ? He wasn't doing any charity work or working for NGO's ... He knew what he was doing but continued and met his fate !

No , lets make it more ridiculous like your theories ... One day , he took hallucinogens , had a dream where God asked him to help find the DNA of OBL , he was also promised Green Card and $ by the creator ... Or possibly he was under some futuristic mind control ? Not knowing , what he do ... I do not know about CIA but something is really wrong with you guys ... There is overwhelming evidence to suggest otherwise yet you are so keen to make and believe conspiracy theories ... Continue , for that is going to change nothing ... The case is closed !

 

[Awesome]

Kind of bogey here sir..


Looks like you DID NOT post the language of the charges but your flawed interpretation of that..

I did but here it is again, when we say language of a charge, quoting wikipedia's explanation is probably not the best thing to do.

1) act as an agent of a foreign principal without registering with the Attorney General in violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA); and 2) falsify, conceal, and cover up material facts they had a duty to disclose in matters within the jurisdiction of Executive Branch agencies of the U.S. government

Two Charged with Conspiring to Act as Unregistered Agents of Pakistani Government

The same way Fai can be prosecuted, a good person, doing a good job, just made a mistake on a technicality, so can Afridi.

 

[AbhimanyuShrivastav]

I did but here it is again, when we say language of a charge, quoting wikipedia's explanation is probably not the best thing to do.



Two Charged with Conspiring to Act as Unregistered Agents of Pakistani Government

The same way Fai can be prosecuted, a good person, doing a good job, just made a mistake on a technicality, so can Afridi.

Sure.. However, your declaration of good person doing a good job goes out of the window when you look at it in the context of him being an agent of Pakistani govt but pretending to be a one for Kashmir.. So its not a mistake but a fraudulent attempt on his part to fool the American govt as well as people of Kashmir

 

[Awesome]

Former US officials also believe that they just screwed over an old man to make a point to Pakistan.

He had been doing this for decades. At least a cease and desist notice was warranted before jailing him.

The acts were not criminal. What were they? Book a hall, call in reporters and writers and give speeches about Kashmir. The money to book that hall, some of it, came from Pakistan.

He was a good person. Compared with Fai, Afridi's actions resulted bombing of Pakistan several deaths and not to forget the tag of CIA operation given to NGO vaccination drives.

A Case Study on Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai

“In the words of the federal prosecutor, Mr. Fai, head of the Kashmiri American Council and a well-known advocate for Kashmiri rights, has funded "high-profile conferences and [paid] for other efforts that promoted the Kashmiri cause to decision-makers in Washington." Goodness. In short, he has been doing what virtually all advocacy groups do in Washington. His sole violation, in this respect at least, has been to fail to file the necessary paperwork to declare himself an agent of a foreign government, and thus formally join his 2,500 counterparts.”

“Without knowing any more, the mind would reel to imagine the nefarious purposes to which such a covert influence campaign might have been put over the past two decades: Suborning lawmakers and opinion leaders in support of Pakistani nuclear weapons development efforts in the 1990s perhaps, or maybe blackmailing strident pre-9/11 opponents of the Afghan Taliban. But no: The real purpose behind this campaign of Pakistani black arts was - (Here the gentle reader may wish to avert her eyes) - championing the cause of self-determination for Kashmiris.”

“I am usually the last to subscribe to conspiracy theories, but it is hard to suppose that the timing of this case has nothing to do with the current feud between the ISI and its American counterpart.”

Robert Grenier was the CIA's chief of station in Islamabad, Pakistan, from 1999 to 2002, Al Jazeera, July 27, 2011

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Just admit you were knowingly harboring Bin Laden.

First, just admit that the US Military and Intelligence Establishment perpetrated the 9/11 attacks to come up with an excuse to invade Muslim nations, spread chaos in them and cause the massacres of hundreds of thousands ...

 

[Agni5000]

Fai and Afridi cases are different. Afridi was helping to find most wanted terrorist. Fai was helping militants and doing financial miss management.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

A case made under Tribal laws. Yes, how well that goes with delivering justice, we all know!

What you think about Tribal laws is irrelevant, just as what people might think about US Laws with the existence of the Patriot Act, extraordinary renditions, detentions without trial, assassinations of individuals through drone strikes on mere 'suspicion' etc.

The fact of the matter is that the Tribal Laws are a part of Pakistan's legal framework under the agreement made with the Tribes when they chose to merge with Pakistan. Should the FCR be abrogated and the Tribal areas brought under the same constitution and laws as the rest of Pakistan? Yes, they should, but until then this is the law.

The first part of your statement contradicts the latter part, when taken in context. Individuals routinely help "foreign agencies" - NGOs, charity work etc. Did the doctor know he was working for CIA specifically? If he did, then, something is wrong on so many levels!!

The reports in the media so far indicate that, yes, he knew he was helping US intelligence/Military, since the vaccination program he was running required multiple doses of the vaccine, and he and his staff administered just one does and never returned, leaving many children unprotected. Had Afridi been working for a legitimate NGO or US government program, he would have been administering the vaccinations properly.

See the OP on this thread:

http://www.defence.pk/forums/strategic-geopolitical-issues/182727-imperial-us-mind.html

Exactly, why drive without a license when there are rules? Isnt driving a privilege, and not a right?

Correct, and Fai's crime fell in the same category, unlike Afridi's treason.

Fai and Afridi cases are different. Afridi was helping to find most wanted terrorist. Fai was helping militants and doing financial miss management.

Slight correction - Afridi was collaborating with a foreign intelligence agency in conducting espionage inside Pakistan, and could not have had any idea on what the real goal of the foreign intelligence agency was, and therefore committed treason.

Not entirely true.. Both the act and means were illegal. The act because it was a masqueraded lobbying. and the means because they were undeclared funds from Pakistani govt/ISI.

Both acts were illegal, just as both driving without a license and committing murder are 'illegal', but the severity of the crimes and therefore the punishment for the crimes is different.

Fai committed a crime akin to deliberately driving without a license, Afridi committed a crime akin to murder, treason, and put the national security of his nation at stake.

Now I could take your car analogy to Dr Afridi as well.. I mean he was employed by a foreign entity.. The same foreign entity employes hundreds of Pakistanis in Pakistan already.. The only difference here was that Dr Afridi did not register his employment (of CIA) with the Govt of Pakistan... Similar to not taking a licence ?? eh?

Nope, not the same - working for an NGO or on a legal program with a foreign government, and not registering, is one thing, but knowingly assisting in an espionage operation inside Pakistan is completely different.

 

[pkpatriotic]

Panetta: Pakistan's Jailing of Doctor 'Unhelpful' to U.S. Relations
Nick Simeone - American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON
May 27, 2012

Pakistan's jailing of a doctor who helped the United States find and kill Osama bin Laden a year ago is undermining efforts by both countries to improve relations, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said in an interview that aired today.

"It is so difficult to understand and so disturbing that they would sentence this doctor to 33 years for helping in the search for the most notorious terrorist in our times," Panetta said in a May 25 taping of ABC's "This Week" program. "This doctor was not working against Pakistan. He was working against al-Qaeda and I hope that, ultimately, Pakistan understands that because what they have done here, I think, does not help in the effort to try to re-establish a relationship between the United States and Pakistan."

Last week, a court in northwestern Pakistan convicted Dr. Shakil Afridi of treason and sentenced him to 33 years in prison. In January, Panetta confirmed publically that Afridi helped the U.S gain access to bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, by providing "very helpful" information. In the interview that aired today, he made clear the Pakistani court's decision could undermine months of efforts to get relations back on track.

"What they did with this doctor doesn't help in the effort to try to do that," he said.

Several key events, including the secret U.S mission to kill bin Laden last May as well as NATO's accidental killing of 24 Pakistani soldiers near the Afghan/Pakistan border in November, have severely tested U.S.-Pakistani relations. Six months after Pakistan closed overland NATO supply lines in response to the border incident, Panetta confirmed both countries are still working on terms for re-opening the ground routes. There have been multiple reports that Pakistan is demanding a steep increase in the fees it will collect from vehicles crossing the border.

"They're negotiating what that price ought to be," the secretary said. "We're not about to get gouged in the price. We want a fair price."

Panetta said the United States and Pakistan remain allies in the fight against terrorism but acknowledged the relationship has strengths and weaknesses. "This has been one of the most complicated relationships that we've had working with Pakistan. We have to continue to work at it. It is important. This is a country that has nuclear weapons. This is a country that still is critical in that region of the world. It's an up and down relationship."

Panetta's interview with ABC came just days after nuclear talks between Iran and six world powers aimed at freezing Tehran's uranium enrichment program ended without apparent progress. Panetta was asked whether the U.S. has a plan ready to strike Iran's nuclear sites if diplomacy fails to curb what the West suspects is an Iranian covert nuclear weapons program.

"We are prepared for any contingency in that part of the world," he said. "But our hope is that these matters can be resolved diplomatically."

 

[pkpatriotic]

The CIA's fake vaccination drive has damaged the battle against polio
Calls for an emergency response to polio are not unrelated to the news that Shakil Afridi has been convicted for his part in the CIA plot

Heidi Larson
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 27 May 2012

A Pakistani health worker marks a child after immunisation with anti-polio drops in Lahore, Pakistan. Photograph: AP Photo


I was in New York on 11 September 2001, standing near one of the TV screens in the media section of Unicef's communication division, where I headed up Unicef's global communication work on immunisation. As the second plane crashed into the twin towers, we were quickly evacuated out of Unicef headquarters. I remember looking at the tall UN secretariat on First Avenue, home of the UN security council and the office of the UN secretary general. The building had always struck me as looking so graceful, but that morning it just looked like another ideal terrorist target. In fact, I never looked at the UN secretariat building with the same eyes again, and the impacts of that day – and the weeks and months that followed – were just the beginning of a changed, less trusting, anxious world.


The impacts of that day in New York became an unexpected thread in my Unicef work and the current research I lead at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, where we monitor trends in vaccine confidence globally.

Last week's call by the World Health Assembly for an emergency response to polio eradication is not unrelated to the news that Dr Shakil Afridi has been convicted of treason in Pakistan and sentenced to 33 years in prison. Dr Afridi, former surgeon general of the Khyber agency, was central to the CIA-led fake vaccination drive used to confirm the presence of Osama bin Laden in his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.


The news of Dr Afridi's role did not emerge until a Guardian article in July 2011, when it shook the immunisation world. Although Dr Afridi had pretended to provide a hepatitis B vaccination, not normally a door-to-door delivery, the news had a particularly strong impact on those working in polio eradication, where door-to-door vaccination is the norm. Anxieties and distrust about the polio vaccine and its western providers were rampant in some communities, and suspicions about CIA links with the polio vaccination campaigns, and rumours they were a front for the sterilising of Muslims, had been around for a decade after 9/11. After years of working to dispel myths about CIA links to the polio eradication efforts – from northern Nigeria to Pakistan and India, all of the work seemed fruitless.


It is no coincidence that the remaining three countries in the world which have polio endemics are Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Yes, there are geographical challenges and financial challenges. And, yes, finding Bin Laden has been a global security priority. But deep-seated suspicions about the motives of those who provide polio vaccines have persisted in some circles from Nigeria to Pakistan, and the CIA's choice of immunisation as a strategy to find Bin Laden has only given credence to the conspiracies.


There must have been a better, more ethical, way. This choice of action has jeopardised people's trust in vaccines, and in particular the polio-eradication campaign, now so close to success – broken trust that will take years to restore. Was this strategy worth this sacrifice of trust and the loss of opportunity for the final eradication of a disease scourge – another threat to human security? These are actions where the age-old Hippocratic oath might have urged caution.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Robert Fisk:

The going price of getting away with murder... would $33m be enough?

The Long View: Are the Pakistanis being so dastardly when they lock up a national who has helped in a murder?

Robert Fisk Monday 28 May 2012

La Clinton hath spoken. Thirty-three million smackers lopped off Pakistan's aid budget because its spooks banged up poor old Dr Shakeel Afridi for 33 years after a secret trial. And, as the world knows, Dr Afridi's crime was to confirm the presence of that old has-been Osama bin Laden in his grotty Abbottabad villa.

Well, that will teach the Pakistanis to mess around with a brave doctor who is prepared to help the American institution that tortures and murders its enemies. Forget the CIA's black prisons and rendition and water-boarding, and the torture of the innocents in the jails of our friendly dictators. Dr Afridi was just doing the free world a favour. And WOW, Dr Afridi got shopped by Leon Pannetta when he was CIA boss, and now Barack Obama is accused of letting him down.

Well, I pause here. Dr Afridi was brought before a secret trial in the Khyber tribal area – no charge sheets, no lawyers, no statements from the defendant or the prosecution, just a measly accusation of conspiracy against the state of Pakistan and "high treason". I've never known the difference between "treason" and "high treason" but – since Pakistan's security apparatus is a mirror image of the British Empire – I assume it was invented by us. "High treason" means treason against the monarch. By fingering Bin Laden, after using a ruse about vaccinating his family against hepatitis B to gain access to him, Dr Afridi was committing treason against King Asif Ali Zardari, otherwise known as the President of Pakistan.

But hold on a moment. Let's suppose Vladimir Putin sent a KGB/FSB hit squad to Britain to murder a former agent called Alexander Litvinenko who had turned against his old spymasters. And let's suppose that the Russians murdered Litvinenko. Which – in real life – they did. And Litvinenko – in real life – was indeed a trusted agent of the Russians, just as Bin Laden was a much-admired servant of the CIA when he was fighting the Russians in Afghanistan.

Getting a bit close to home? Well, let's go a stage further. Supposing Litvinenko was murdered after being identified by a friendly British GP – working for the KGB/FSB – who vaccinated the Litvinenko family against hep B. What do Messrs Cameron and Clegg and the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police and the Lord Chief Justice and the Lord High Executioner and all the other nabobs do? Do they accuse the British GP of treason, clap him in irons, stage a hush-hush trial covered by the Official Secrets Act and send the chap off to rot in the Tower of London for – say – 33 years?

Or do they accept a bribe from Moscow of, say, $33m (£21m) to let the GP out of jug so he can potter off to Moscow to be given a new home and restart his career as a doktor for the nomenklatura?

In other words, are the Pakistanis being so dastardly when they lock up a national who has helped a foreign power murder an exile inside his own country of Pakistan? And, more to the point, wouldn't we do the same?

And let's take the story of hypocrisy a stage further. Wasn't there a brave Israeli citizen called Mordechai Vanunu, who, in opposition to the nuclear weapons that his country was amassing in secret, spoke out to the world about this outrageous threat to international world order and was subsequently kidnapped from Italy by intelligence agents, tried in Israel for "treason" – in secret, of course – and spent 18 years in prison? Now I grant you that's 15 years shorter than poor old Dr Afridi, but Vanunu still lives under grave restrictions to his liberty and has twice been imprisoned again for the heinous crime of chatting to foreign journalists.

And has La Clinton threatened to suspend a single dollar of Israel's annual $3bn in aid from the United States for the next 33 years in order to protest Israel's treatment of Vanunu? Not to mention – not even to utter the words – Sabra and Chatila, Gaza, a 45-year occupation, illegal colonisation of West Bank land, etc, etc, or, indeed, for producing nuclear weapons. And we absolutely must not mention Jonathan Pollard, the former CIA and US Navy intelligence officer sentenced to life in prison in 1987 for spying for Israel. For if Pollard is not released, is Israel threatening to cut its aid to America? Hold on, that doesn't quite compute, does it? But you get the point.

It's about hypocrisy. Sure, Pakistan is a corrupt country. Sure, it is corrupt from the shoeshiner up to the pinnacles of power. But I suppose in the end, if you're going to prostitute yourself to America – financially and militarily, as Pakistan has done for decades – that's the price you pay. Which is why hypocrisy will win. For Dr Afridi, I predict, will be quietly given a substantial reduction in his sentence, will be released – or disappear – from his Pakistani prison and, in a few months/ years, when Zardari has scored enough points from Dr Afridi's imprisonment, the good doctor will pop up in the US with a fine medical practice and the pleasure of knowing – of course – that La Clinton has re-endowed Pakistan with its missing $33m.

so whats the fuss about - its happening all over the world - we just dont know how to go about!

Robert Fisk: Clinton's $33m raid on Pakistan shows that, in the end, hypocrisy will win - Robert Fisk - Commentators - The Independent

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Of pride, nationalism, loyalty and deceit

American cluelessness of Pakistani attitudes toward the jailed Dr Shakil Afridi is what is so disturbing in this affair.
Last Modified: 28 May 2012 09:59

Pakistanis view Dr Shakil Afridi similar to how Americans view Jonathan Pollard - a traitor to the country

Washington, DC - Once again, voices of righteous indignation are being raised dramatically in Washington. Senators Carl Levin and John McCain, the two ranking members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, are perhaps the most strident among them, having just pronounced the actions of a Pakistani court to be "shocking and outrageous". Should the government of Pakistan fail to undo this judicial travesty, they assert, it "will only do further harm to US-Pakistani relations, including diminishing Congress' willingness to provide financial assistance to Pakistan".

The list of serious irritants to US-Pakistani relations is long these days. But the cause of this most recent spate of bluster and threats was the sentencing last Wednesday by a Pakistani tribal court of one Dr Shakil Afridi, a Pakistani public-health physician convicted of having provided intelligence assistance in support of US efforts to track down Osama bin Laden. Dr Afridi is alleged to have organised an ostensible vaccination campaign in the vicinity of bin Laden's suspected hideout in hopes of inoculating one or more of the resident children, thereby potentially gaining a DNA confirmation of the al-Qaeda leader's presence. What other assistance the Pakistani physician may have provided, if any, we do not know. No one suggests Afridi was aware of the actual target of the Americans' interest. Precisely what he thought he was doing, or his motives in doing it likewise remain uncertain. What is clear, however, is that Pakistan considers him a traitor, and that he has been sentenced to 33 years in prison.

Just as they did shortly after Afridi's arrest in the aftermath of last year's raid on bin Laden's Abbottabad compound, however, various US officials are expressing a combination of outrage and incomprehension. Secretary of State Clinton has just described Afridi's treatment as "unjust and unwarranted". Speaking from Air Force One, the White House spokesman has underscored that Afridi was providing "...assistance not against Pakistan, but against al-Qaeda..." And in an action designed more to inflict insult than injury, the Senate Appropriations Committee has voted unanimously to cut aid to Pakistan by $33 million - one for each year of Dr Afridi's sentence.

There appear to be several motives behind these actions. Some US officials appear stung by the appearance of America's having abandoned Afridi to his fate, and are concerned at the disincentive this could provide to others. But underlying such practical considerations is a far more profound moral indignation at the notion that Pakistan would want to punish someone for doing what to American eyes is clearly the right thing. From the American optic, if Pakistani officials are outraged that one of their own would attempt to aid America against al-Qaeda, isn't this yet more proof that Pakistan is aligned with the enemy?

The merits of the case aside, American cluelessness regarding Pakistani attitudes and the reasons for them is what is most disturbing in this entire affair. From the Pakistani viewpoint, the United States' obvious lack of trust in having declined to solicit their assistance in verifying bin Laden's presence in Abbottabad or in trying to effect his capture is a national insult. And in having launched a secret commando raid on Pakistani territory, in an Army town no less, the Americans have deftly turned insult into national humiliation. To a Pakistani, the notion that one of their nationals would have been complicit in these perceived outrages against their sovereignty is simply unforgiveable, no matter that his assistance was marginal at best - he apparently never did acquire the hoped-for DNA - and that he could certainly not have anticipated the nature of American actions to come.

Make no mistake, as this observer has asserted previously, the Americans had virtually no choice in acting unilaterally in Abbottabad. The state of distrust between the two countries and their intelligence services at the time, as well as the possibility of some level of official Pakistani complicity in bin Laden's safe keeping would have made it impossible for the Americans to bring Pakistan into their confidence. The great tragedy in this episode is that, given the importance attached to bin Laden, the US could not have acted other than as it did, regardless of the consequences. What is incomprehensible to me, however, is the apparent American expectation that Pakistanis would see the situation in the same way.

The case of Jonathan Pollard, a civilian employee of the US Department of Defence who provided Israeli intelligence with thousands of classified documents, may be different from the Afridi case in important respects. But as Israelis have pointed out, his espionage was purportedly aimed at helping an ally, not an enemy. And many in Israel would have considered the information Pollard acquired surreptitiously something which the US ought by rights to have provided them voluntarily. Indeed, Pollard is considered a hero in Israel, and successive Israeli governments have made high-profile attempts to win his release from prison.

But an American nationalist, such as this writer, is bound to see the situation in distinctly different terms. To me, Pollard is a traitor to his country who has violated the public trust, and is fully deserving of his punishment. The more Israeli officials have lobbied publicly on his behalf, the more those who think as I do have dug in their heels.

It should not be a surprise that Pakistani nationalists would feel similarly. It is a truism that the lines which divide political entities and cultures likewise divide the minds of men. Given their own nationalistic tendencies, it should not be so difficult for American officials now making over-heated public statements on Afridi's behalf to understand that in doing so they are not doing the good doctor any favours. One might hope that given time and quiet - repeat, quiet - diplomacy, it might be possible to relieve a bit player on the margins of grand historical events from the consequences of his being caught up as an unfortunate political symbol, but if US officials believe they will accomplish this through a combination of public brow-beating and financial blackmail, they should think again. And while they are at it, they might consider the fact that this is a strategic relationship with little margin for further gratuitous stress.

Robert Grenier is a retired, 27-year veteran of the CIA's Clandestine Service. He was Director of the CIA's Counter-Terrorism Center from 2004 to 2006.

The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial policy.

Of pride, nationalism, loyalty and deceit - Opinion - Al Jazeera English

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

The curious case of Shakil Afridi

By Asad Munir
Published: May 28, 2012

The writer is a retired brigadier who has served in senior intelligence postings in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Fata


Dr Shakil Afridi has been found guilty and sentenced to 33 years of imprisonment by the assistant political agent of Bara in Khyber Agency on five different charges under the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR). The charges include “conspiracy to wage war against the state” and “concealing a conspiracy to wage war against the state”.

Two questions have been raised by many people. The first is that why has he been punished instead of being rewarded for helping a wanted terrorist and the second is that why was he was tried under the FCR and not under the regular law of the land. Here is a little by way of background of Dr Afridi, reported in the vernacular media and narrated by a few locals of Khyber Agency.

Shakil Afridi’s father, Mewa Khan shifted to Multan on lands allotted to his father by the British for his services in the military. Afridi was born and educated in Multan and then on tribal quota got admission in Khyber Medical College in Peshawar. In the early 1990s, he got a job in the health services department of NWFP as it was then called. He was posted as a medical officer at Dogra Hospital in Bara and though being only an MBBS degree holder, he performed surgeries in his clinic. In 2008, on complaints from locals, reportedly Mangal Bagh summoned him and fined him one million rupees. After the fine was not paid initially, Dr Afridi was kidnapped by Mangal Bagh’s men and released only after it was paid. In April 2010, Dr Afridi was posted as agency surgeon for Khyber Agency. His first contact with the Americans took place in 2007-2008, and he is reported to have provided them information about militant groups operating in Khyber Agency. Subsequently, he was tasked to get DNA samples of inhabitants at the Abbottabad compound, suspected to be occupied by Osama bin Laden.

Is he a traitor? I think not. Was he involved in espionage, the answer is again ‘no’. Did he help in locating Osama? No, because he did not know that Osama was hiding there when he was asked to collect the DNA samples. He may not be guilty of the charges under which he has been convicted, but he is guilty of working for a foreign agency, and trying to make quick money, and without prior approval of the Fata Secretariat was running an illegal vaccination campaign in Abbottabad, which was out of his area of responsibility. As for the question of why try him under the FCR, that is because he belongs to and was serving in Khyber Agency.

Any agreement of intelligence-sharing is between two states and no individual can undertake that task on his own, not even ISI officials. The CIA breached this agreement by concealing information from the ISI and tasking a Pakistani government official for a job which they knew was illegal. They did not have any solid reason to hide information from the ISI in case of Osama because there is no instance of shared information being leaked and the target was forewarned. If that were the case, several senior al Qaeda leaders wouldn’t have been arrested in Pakistan with the help of the ISI. Of course, this is not to say that Dr Afridi doesn’t deserve a fair trial and punishment proportionate to his crime. However, the US administration is not justified in seeking his release, because they would never like any US citizen to work for a foreign intelligence agency either.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 29th, 2012.
The curious case of Shakil Afridi – The Express Tribune

 

[AbhimanyuShrivastav]

The curious case of Shakil Afridi

By Asad Munir
Published: May 28, 2012

The writer is a retired brigadier who has served in senior intelligence postings in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Fata


Dr Shakil Afridi has been found guilty and sentenced to 33 years of imprisonment by the assistant political agent of Bara in Khyber Agency on five different charges under the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR). The charges include “conspiracy to wage war against the state” and “concealing a conspiracy to wage war against the state”.

Two questions have been raised by many people. The first is that why has he been punished instead of being rewarded for helping a wanted terrorist and the second is that why was he was tried under the FCR and not under the regular law of the land. Here is a little by way of background of Dr Afridi, reported in the vernacular media and narrated by a few locals of Khyber Agency.

Shakil Afridi’s father, Mewa Khan shifted to Multan on lands allotted to his father by the British for his services in the military. Afridi was born and educated in Multan and then on tribal quota got admission in Khyber Medical College in Peshawar. In the early 1990s, he got a job in the health services department of NWFP as it was then called. He was posted as a medical officer at Dogra Hospital in Bara and though being only an MBBS degree holder, he performed surgeries in his clinic. In 2008, on complaints from locals, reportedly Mangal Bagh summoned him and fined him one million rupees. After the fine was not paid initially, Dr Afridi was kidnapped by Mangal Bagh’s men and released only after it was paid. In April 2010, Dr Afridi was posted as agency surgeon for Khyber Agency. His first contact with the Americans took place in 2007-2008, and he is reported to have provided them information about militant groups operating in Khyber Agency. Subsequently, he was tasked to get DNA samples of inhabitants at the Abbottabad compound, suspected to be occupied by Osama bin Laden.

Is he a traitor? I think not. Was he involved in espionage, the answer is again ‘no’. Did he help in locating Osama? No, because he did not know that Osama was hiding there when he was asked to collect the DNA samples. He may not be guilty of the charges under which he has been convicted, but he is guilty of working for a foreign agency, and trying to make quick money, and without prior approval of the Fata Secretariat was running an illegal vaccination campaign in Abbottabad, which was out of his area of responsibility. As for the question of why try him under the FCR, that is because he belongs to and was serving in Khyber Agency.

Any agreement of intelligence-sharing is between two states and no individual can undertake that task on his own, not even ISI officials. The CIA breached this agreement by concealing information from the ISI and tasking a Pakistani government official for a job which they knew was illegal. They did not have any solid reason to hide information from the ISI in case of Osama because there is no instance of shared information being leaked and the target was forewarned. If that were the case, several senior al Qaeda leaders wouldn’t have been arrested in Pakistan with the help of the ISI. Of course, this is not to say that Dr Afridi doesn’t deserve a fair trial and punishment proportionate to his crime. However, the US administration is not justified in seeking his release, because they would never like any US citizen to work for a foreign intelligence agency either.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 29th, 2012.
The curious case of Shakil Afridi – The Express Tribune

One of the more sane pieces about the Dr Afridi saga coming out of Pakistan...