Uphold national honour – Mohammad Jamil
Tuesday, September 10, 2013 – It is heartening to note that the government has decided to enter into a number of extradition and prisoner swap agreements with many other countries. Last month, Federal Cabinet gave approval for signing the ‘Council of Europe’s Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons’. This could pave the way for repatriation of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, who was sentenced by a United States court and serving her sentence there. The cabinet was apprised that Pakistani nationals sentenced by US courts could not be brought home due to absence of any bilateral agreement or any convention signed between the two countries. Under US law, a person sentenced under federal law may only be repatriated/transferred to country of origin if the country in question is a signatory to a prisoner transfer treaty to which the US is also a signatory. But under no circumstances it should be an exchange or swap with Dr. Shakeel Afridi, who in the first place not America citizen, and secondly he is traitor to Pakistan.
He sold his soul for dollars and had hidden facts from Pakistan and its institution. Those demanding Aafia siddiqui’s exchange with Shakeel Afridi overwhelmed by emotional flare-up either do not understand the simple fact that Shakeel Afridi is a Pakistani who must undergo a fair retrial for disregarding service norms and his despicable role in Osama bin Laden episode, which brought embarrassment, disgrace and ignominy to Pakistan. Last month, Commissioner FCR overturned jail sentence of Shakeel Afridi just a day after the cabinet decision to sign the extradition treaty with US, which is disturbing as people perceive it as an attempt by the government, which is considering exchange of Aafia with Shakeel Afridi under US pressure. Dr. Shakeel Afridi’s fake polio campaign was reportedly initiated at the behest of the CIA; therefore the US pressures must be resisted and Shakeel Afridi should not be extradited to the US. The government should remain firm on the matter of security and sovereignty and uphold national honour.
Dr. Shakeel Afridi was convicted by orders of the Assistant Political Agent Bara on 23rd May 2012, who is also Additional District Magistrate on four counts of anti-state activities for which he has been awarded 33 years’ imprisonment in accordance with the provision of Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR). The punishment was based on his close association and terrorism-based linkages with Mangal Bagh-led Lashkar-e-Islam, which is active in Bara and Tirah Valley. In its verdict, the court also recommended that the evidence gathered by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) relating to Afridi’s clandestine liaison with the foreign intelligence services be produced before another relevant court for further proceedings under the law. Dr. Afridi’s case has become a test case, as his conviction has sent the message to aliens’ agents and palmed off media men loud and clear that they will be in the dock if they do not stop their anti-Pakistan activities.
On the other hand, if the government buckles under pressure of the US to release Dr. Afridi, alien agents would be emboldened to work with more ‘zeal’ to the detriment of national interest. Anyhow, immediately after the court sentenced Dr. Shakil Afridi, US State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland had said that there was no basis for Dr. Afridi to be incarcerated. US Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher called it a “decisive proof that Pakistan sees itself as being at war with the US”. Two key US senators Carl Levin and John McCain in a joint statement had said that Afridi’s sentence was “shocking and outrageous”, urging Pakistan to pardon Dr. Afridi along with the warning that the decision could put US assistance to Pakistan at risk. Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said: “It is so disturbing that they would sentence this doctor to 33 years for helping in the search for the most notorious terrorist of our time”.
Then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton vowed to continue to press the case of Dr. Shakil Afridi with Islamabad, describing Pakistan’s jailing of Afridi for 33 years for helping the CIA find OBL, “unjust and unwarranted”. But Dr. Shakil Afridi’s case has become the most controversial issue generating national and international debate. US-led media persons projected him as a hero while patriots in Pakistan saw him as a traitor who had become a secret agent of a foreign agency, for money. Ever since US violated Pakistan’s sovereignty to kill OBL and launched aerial attacks on Salala Check-post, the US initiated powerful propaganda campaign against Pakistan threatening economic sanctions and leveling serious allegations against Pakistan. The aim was to create fear in the minds of top leadership, media men and the masses. The CIA had also breached the early agreement by concealing information from the ISI and tasking a Pakistani government official for a job, which they knew was illegal.
There was no reason for the CIA to hide information about Osama bin Laden from the ISI, because Pakistan had arrested scores of Al Qaeda leaders and operatives who were handed over to the US. There was not a single instance of shared information being leaked and the target forewarned. Having that said, the US administration is not justified in seeking Dr. Shakil Afridi’s release, because it would never like any US citizen to work for a foreign intelligence agency either. America has many a time displayed double standards. Take the case of Jonathan Pollard, an American citizen, who worked as an American civilian intelligence analyst before being convicted of spying for Israel.
He received a life sentence in 1987 and still languishes in jail. Pakistani analysts and panelists should understand that Dr. Shakeel Afridi’s case is not a shut and closed case. Of course, great majority of the people of the world wanted to see that Osama bin Laden was apprehended, put in the docks and given exemplary punishment, but the way America conducted operation violating the sovereignty of Pakistan was cause for serious concern and deserved condemnation in very strong terms.