Pakistani authorities are expected to release Shakil Afridi, a Pakistani doctor who helped the CIA hunt down Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, after being transferred to the city of Rawalpindi from Peshawar, where he has been jailed for seven years now.
The authorities arrested Afridi and later sentenced him to life imprisonment after the execution of Abbottabad operation, which ended in the death of bin Laden in May 2011.
His attorney said on Saturday that his jail transfer could be a prelude to his release.
Afridi was accused of treason after word spread he had helped the CIA collect genetic samples of the bin Laden family, paving the way for a US Navy SEAL raid in the town of Abbottabad that killed him.
The continued imprisonment of Afridi has long been a source of tension between Pakistan and the United States, which cut military aid over accusations Islamabad continues to shelter Taliban militants fighting US and Afghan soldiers across the border in Afghanistan.
A jail official in the northwestern city of Peshawar said Afridi was transferred to Adiala prison in Rawalpindi, near the capital Islamabad, but said the reasons were unclear and could simply be security-related.
Afridi’s lawyer, Qamar Nadeem, confirmed the transfer of his client but said he was not sure where he was now.
Judicial officials could not be reached on Saturday nor could embassy officials for the United States, which has for years called on Pakistan to release Afridi, according to Reuters.
Bin Laden was accused of plotting the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States that killed nearly 3,000 people. Afridi was arrested days after the US operation – which Pakistan called a violation of its sovereignty – and charged with aiding terrorists.
He was sentenced to 23 years jail for financing terrorism. That conviction was overturned in 2013, but he is still serving time for other terrorism-related convictions, his lawyer said.
He also faced a murder trial related to the death of a patient more than a decade ago.
However, the lawyer said Afridi had recently had his latest sentence reduced to seven years in a clemency action and had served about that amount of time already. “So I think he can be released very soon,” Nadeem told Reuters.
Pakistani officials refused to comment on the developments, considering it an extremely sensitive issue.
"I can not comment on that issue at the moment," a senior Pakistani official told Asharq Al-Awsat.
A US State Department official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, called on the Pakistani government to ensure Afridi’s safety.
“We are aware of reports that Afridi has been transferred to another prison and call on the government of Pakistan to take all necessary measures to ensure his safety,” the official said.
