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India-Pakistan
Gunman opens fire inside courtroom killing top lawyer in northwest Pakistan
2023-01-17
"The father of the attacker had represented Shakil Afridi, the Pakistani physician who helped the CIA find al-Qaida mastermind Osama bin Laden"
[FoxNews] A gunman dressed as a lawyer shot and killed a prominent attorney inside a courtroom in northwestern Pakistan on Monday, police said.

The attacker, who was arrested at the scene, had opened fire at Abdul Latif Afridi, a former president of Pakistan’s lawyers union and a prominent figure in the community, fatally wounding him. The attack took place at the High Court in Peshawar.

The attacker, Adnan Khan, had previously accused Afridi of orchestrating the 2015 killing of his father, Samiullah Khan, who was also a lawyer, said Naeem Khan, a police officer.

It was unclear how the attacker managed to sneak into the court building with a handgun. The killing was condemned by Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, government officials, politicians and lawyers.

In a statement, Sharif expressed concern over the deteriorating security situation in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where Peshawar is the capital. His chief rival, the party of opposition leader and former Prime Minister Imran Khan is in power in the provincial assembly.

Before his killing, Samiullah Khan, the father of the attacker, had represented Shakil Afridi, the Pakistani physician who helped the CIA find al-Qaida mastermind Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden was killed in 2011 by Navy SEALs in a raid on his hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

The physician ran a fake vaccination campaign that helped locate and identify bin Laden. The doctor and the lawyer killed on Monday are not related.

In 2012, Pakistan sentenced Shakil Afridi to 33 years in prison on charges of allegedly providing money and medical treatment to Islamic militants in a former tribal region. Afridi and his family have denied those charges.

Pakistan was outraged over being kept in the dark ahead of the SEALs operation. Washington has demanded Afridi’s release but Islamabad has resisted the demand, saying he violated Pakistani law. The doctor was never formally charged in bin Laden’s case.
Khaama Press adds:
The police arrested the perpetrator and identified him as Adnan Afridi. The attacker was related to the Afridi tribe, and the incident happened due to personal enmity, according to the findings of the police.

The Beautiful Downtown Peshawar
...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistain's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire...
 high court bar association described the terror incident as security lapse and criticized how a gunman managed to reach the bar room, and shoot Afridi.

Following the incident, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and many high-ranking Pak politicians and public figures condemned the brutal attack on the senior lawyer and expressed their deep condolences to the family and relatives of the victim.
More from Dawn:
Afridi, 80, was sitting in the Beautiful Downtown Peshawar High Court bar room with other lawyers when the att­acker shot up him, according to the police. He was rushed to Lady Reading Hospital but could not survive.

The police claimed that the attacker, identified as Adnan Samiullah Afridi, was arrested from the scene of the crime and moved to East Canto­n­ment Police Station where a case was registered.

An officer at the cop shoppe told Dawn that the suspect had confessed to the crime and that he had killed the victim over a family feud.

‘A PROGRESSIVE VOICE NO MORE’
Afridi’s killing marks the end of an era and has left the legal fraternity and his admirers shaken.

Latif Afridi, commonly known as Latif Lala, has left behind a legacy of a decades-long struggle for civil liberties, democracy, rule of law, and the rights of people, especially those belonging to the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

Born in 1943, he had done his LLB from the University of Peshawar in 1968 and his career as a lawyer spanned over five decades. His election as the president of the Supreme Court
...the political football known as The Highest Court in the Land, home of penumbrae and emanations...
 Bar Association in 2020 and multiple tenures as the president of the Peshawar High Court Bar Association is a testimony to his popularity among the lawyer community.

He had also remained the vice chairman and a member of the Pakistain Bar Council.

He was also a blunt critic of militancy in the region and often called for a clear state policy on terrorism. He was also vocal against the military’s interference in politics and termed the practice usurpation of the fundamental rights of people.

During his lifetime, Latif Lala was known for his progressive politics. Dur­ing his political career, he largely remained associated with the Awami National Party
founded by Abdul Wali Khan in 1986. Part of the PPP-led cabinet 2008-13. The ANP is considered left wing, advocating for secularism, democratic socialism, public sector government, and economic egalitarianism....
, with which he stayed until a few years ago. Before his death, he was a part of the National Democratic Party — a recently-formed party led by North Wazoo politician Mohsin Dawar.
Related:
Abdul Latif Afridi: 2019-09-19 MNAs Ali Wazir, Mohsin Dawar make bail in Kharqamar attack case
Abdul Latif Afridi: 2008-09-01 Tribal elders ask govt to target militants
Abdul Latif Afridi: 2007-10-31 Petition against TNSM chief's detention
Link


India-Pakistan
Shakil Afridi: The doctor who helped the CIA find Bin Laden case to be heard
2019-10-09
[BBC] A Pakistani court is due to hear an appeal to free a doctor accused of helping the US track down al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden.

The Peshawar High Court will hear Shakil Afridi's case on Wednesday, the first time it will be heard in an open court in Pakistan.

He was never formally charged for his role in the 2011 operation to hunt down and kill the world's most-wanted man.

Dr Afridi has always argued that he was denied a fair trial.

His imprisonment caused outrage and saw the US cut federal aid to Pakistan by $33m (£27m) - $1m for every year of his jail sentence.

US President Donald Trump promised in his 2016 election campaign that he would get Dr Afridi released in "two minutes" if elected - but that never happened.
Link


India-Pakistan
‘Terrorists killed in Hayatabad were TTP members’
2019-05-08
[DAWN] A suspect tossed in the calaboose
Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un!
 by the law-enforcement agencies in connection with a recent shootout in Hayatabad Township has disclosed that the alleged Lions of Islam killed in the encounter belonged to the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
 Pakistain and had also planned to kill provincial ministers Shahram Tarakai and Atif Khan through a jacket wallah.

The disclosure was made by Yasir Shams in the confessional statement recorded with senior civil judge (judicial) Nasrullah Khan on May 4.

The suspect claimed that the alleged terrorists, including Tariq, Murad, Amjad, Irfan, Saeed and Feroze Shah, were known to him and were also involved in the attempt on the life of Beautiful Downtown Peshawar
...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire.
 High Court judge Ayub Khan, who was critically injured in an attack in Hayatabad Township on Feb 28.

In the confessional statement, the suspect didn’t say that he was part of the TTP but insisted that he was aware of the activities of terrorists.

The alleged terrorists, including Murad, Tariq, Amjad and Feroze Shah, along with an Afghan citizen,

Imran Mohmand, were killed in the encounter, which began on the night of Apr 15 and ended the next day leaving a police officer and an army man martyred.

Suspect Saeed, who was reportedly arrested after the encounter injured, is in the police’s custody.

The suspect, a computer operator at a local company, claimed that he was present in a gathering a day before attack on Justice Ayub when Tariq, Amjad, Feroze Shah, Irfan and Saeed had finalised the liquidation plan.

He added that Saeed had been working on that plan for many months.

The suspect gave an interesting motive behind the attack on Justice Ayub claiming that the people wanted to kill the judge for acquitting Dr Shakil Afridi, who later went to the US, though the agency surgeon has never been acquitted and he continues to be behind bars.

The suspect said Tariq, Murad and Feroze Shah rode a cycle of violence carrying an automatic gun and pistols, whereas he (Yasir Shams) was in a car with the accused Irfan waiting at a distance from the place of attack.

He claimed that after firing at the vehicle of Justice Ayub, the three attackers approached them and Murad and Feroze Shah also boarded the car.

In the confessional statement, the suspect gave another interesting account of the botched attempt to kill Shahram Tarakai and Atif Khan.

"An event was organised by the ISF (Insaf Students Federation) of the PTI in Baghe Naran, where the PTI’s key leaders were invited. Amjad and Tariq had prepared an Afghan boy as a suicide bomber to target the event," he said.

The suspect said an explosive-laden cycle of violence was to be used by the suicide bomber for the terrorist activity but he met an accident on his way and thus, failing to reach the target.

"I and Saeed were walking around when we saw the suicide bomber with the cycle of violence," he said, adding that the bomber told them that he got scared after the cycle of violence hit a car.

"Those riding that car slapped the bomber after which he started pushing the cycle of violence instead of riding it and approaching the target," he said.

The suspect said the alleged Lions of Islam went to the Hayatabad Phase 7 house, which was destroyed by security forces after the encounter.

He said after reaching the house, the Lions of Islam abused each other.

The suspect said he repented his unlawful activities and sought forgiveness.
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India-Pakistan
High court bars handing over of Dr Shakil to US
2019-03-01
[DAWN] The Beautiful Downtown Peshawar
...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire.
 High Court has ordered the federal government not to send former agency surgeon of Khyber Agency
... the place to go if you've got an Indiana Jones hat and whip. Chock full of high adventure and treacherous Pathans. You should really train up to it, though...
 Dr Shakil Afridi
... the Pakistani doctor who helped the CIA find Osama bin Laden in 2011 by running a fake vaccination program. He has been kept in solitary confinement in the high security Sahiwal prison, falsely convicted of supporting the terror group Lashkar e-Islam...
abroad in case of any secret deal with the US government.

The orders were issued after a bench consisting of Chief Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth and Justice Mohammad Ayub Khan accepted the petition of senior lawyer Mohammad Khursheed Khan against the ’possible’ handover of Dr Shakil to the US.

A bench consisting of Chief Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth and Justice Mohammad Ayub Khan pronounced the order after the petitioner, Mohammad Khursheed Khan, completed his arguments contending that any move by the government to shift Dr Shakil abroad would be unconstitutional and illegal.

The petitioner, who is a former deputy attorney general, had filed the petition in 2017 when there were rumours that Dr Shakil might be shifted abroad and handed over to the US government.
Link


India-Pakistan
Doctor who helped find Bin Laden ‘unwell’ in tiny cell
2018-10-12
[AsiaTimes] Dr Shakil Afridi helped the CIA track down al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden but is considered a traitor in Pakistan. A new law will allow his conviction to be challenged in a higher court.

The doctor who helped the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) hunt down Osama Bin Laden – by running a fake vaccination campaign in 2011 – is being held in a high-security prison in Pakistan’s central Punjab, where he has reportedly been in very poor health.

Sources among Dr Shakil Afridi’s family and his lead attorney have confirmed that the jail authorities do not allow his lawyers to meet him. The family is also not permitted to deliver everyday essentials to Afridi, who is incarcerated in a tiny cell just 1.5 square meters (5×5 ft) in size in a heavily fortified jail equipped with high-tech security.

The prison in Sahiwal, where Dr Afridi is in solitary confinement, was built for dangerous and high profile prisoners from all over the country.

It has an automatic locking system for each cell and state-of-the-art gadgetry including CCTV cameras, computers, delta barriers, jamming devices, walkthrough gates, and watchtowers. A five-layer security cover and round-the-clock patrolling by elite Police commandoes make it the most protected jail in Pakistan.

His elder brother Jameel told Asia Times: “The facilities normally available to common prisoners under the jail manual are denied to Dr Afridi. The authorities gave me his soap, razor, towel, toothpaste, brushes, slippers, joggers, socks and vests last time I visited him in Sahiwal.”

He said Shakil’s health was deteriorating in the small detention cell where mosquitoes buzz around at night. “They turned over his prayer beads and prayer mats and refused to allow these items in the cell. The jail authorities did not even allow hair dye, which I bought for him,” Jamal lamented.

Last week, Pakistan’s newly appointed Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi was in New York for the United Nations General Assembly. During an interview with Fox News, he gave an assurance that the government was still considering whether to release Shakil Afridi.

“He is viewed as a traitor in Pakistan but a friend in the US. So we have to bridge this gap,” Fox News quoted him as saying. He claimed that Dr Afridi had undergone a legal process in Pakistan and was given a fair chance to plead his case. “He was sentenced, convicted and [is] serving a sentence and we expect you would respect our legal process, as we respect yours,” Qureshi added.

Qamar Nadeem, Dr Afridi’s lead attorney, said: “The frosty relations with the US cannot be normalized until Pakistan sympathetically reconsiders the plight of Afridi’s family, withdraws all cases against him and allows him to join his family as a free citizen.”

He alluded to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s recent visit to Islamabad, saying the government would give a boost to US-Pakistan relations if Afridi was set free. “Whatever effort they make in trying to normalize the [bilateral] relationship will not be effective until a decision is taken to determine the fate of Dr Afridi.”

The lawyer said Dr Afridi was convicted in a concocted case for helping the CIA locate Bin Laden, an act that Pakistani authorities believed was “treasonous.”
He said the charge of funding, harboring, facilitating the Lashkar e-Islam terrorist group was a way to cover the anger of the establishment. “He is languishing in jail for years facing phony charges that were never substantiated at any stage of his protracted legal battle,” Nadeem claimed.

Link


India-Pakistan
US needs to respect Pakistan's legal process in Shakil Afridi case: FM Qureshi
2018-10-02
[DAWN] Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Wormtongue Qureshi has said that Pakistain expects the United States to "respect our legal process as we respect yours" while speaking on the imprisonment of Dr Shakil Afridi, who was convicted by a tribal court in 2012.

FM Qureshi was speaking to Fox News on Sunday during his official visit to the US.

Dr Afridi was tossed in the clink
Please don't kill me!
 for 33 years in May 2012 after he was convicted over links with holy warriors, a charge he has denied. He had been taken into custody soon after the killing of Al Qaeda chief the late Osama bin Laden
... who doesn't live anywhere anymore...
 by US commandoes in Abbottabad
... A pleasant city located only 30 convenient miles from Islamabad. The city is noted for its nice weather and good schools. It is the site of Pakistain's military academy, which was within comfortable walking distance of the residence of the late Osama bin Laden....
 in May 2011. He was accused of helping the CIA track down the Al Qaeda leader in Abbottabad.

Many in the US, however, had raised questions about his due process under the tribal system.
Link


India-Pakistan
Musharraf suggests exchanging Afridi for Fazlullah
2018-05-27
[DAWN] Pakistain’s former military ruler retired Gen Pervez Perv Musharraf
... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ...
 has said had he been the president now, he would have released Dr Shakil Afridi in a "give and take" deal.

In an interview to Voice of America’s Greta Van Susteren, Musharraf also noted that relations between the United States and Pakistain were at their "lowest ebb" now.

"Well, with a deal, yes. With a deal," said the retired general when asked if he was the president now, would he release Afridi. "A deal, is a give and take. Yes, indeed it can be resolved. I don’t think it is such a serious thing that it cannot be resolved," he added.

Dr Afridi, who helped the CIA locate the late Osama bin Laden
... who used to be alive but now he's not...
 in Abbottabad
... A pleasant city located only 30 convenient miles from Islamabad. The city is noted for its nice weather and good schools. It is the site of Pakistain's military academy, which was within comfortable walking distance of the residence of the late Osama bin Laden....
, has been in prison in Pakistain since 2011. On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pledged before a congressional committee that he would continue to work "diligently" to get Afridi out of prison.

US politicians have urged the Trump administration to bring Afridi to the United States where he is considered a hero.

Defending Pakistain’s position on Afridi, Musharraf said every nation had to make policies in accordance with its interests.

He acknowledged that Pakistain’s policy in this case was an "irritant to the United States but Washington would have probably done the same if faced with a similar situation. "Purely on the merits of the case, ... would you allow... a US citizen dealing with the ISI on a very, very sensitive issue of national importance to the United States?" he asked.

One possibility Musharraf indicated in the interview was exchanging Afridi for Mullah Fazlullah
...son-in-law of holy man Sufi Mohammad. Known as Mullah FM, Fazlullah had the habit of grabbing his FM mike when the mood struck him and bellowing forth sermons. Sufi suckered the Pak govt into imposing Shariah on the Swat Valley and then stepped aside whilst Fazlullah and his Talibs imposed a reign of terror on the populace like they hadn't seen before, at least not for a thousand years or so. For some reason the Pak intel services were never able to locate his transmitter, much less bomb it. After ruling the place like a conquered province for a year or so, Fazlullah's Talibs began gobbling up more territory as they pushed toward Islamabad, at which point as a matter of self-preservation the Mighty Pak Army threw them out and chased them into Afghanistan...
. "We can resolve this irritant and exchange more accommodating stance from the United States... and Afghanistan because we have a terrorist sitting there, Fazlullah," he said.

"I suppose the United States also knows that he’s there."

Further exploring the possibilities for improving America’s relations with Pakistain, he urged Washington to listen to Islamabad’s grievances and advised Islamabad to pay attention to America’s complaints about the Haqqani network. "We need to sit down and resolve these issues," he said.

Washington claims that Pakistain has allowed the Haqqani network to use its territories for carrying out operations in Afghanistan and has greatly reduced its financial assistance to Pakistain over this issue.

Link


India-Pakistan
Pakistan Paves Way for Release of Doctor Who Helped Hunt Down Bin Laden
2018-05-01
President Obama didn’t care, President Trump does.
[AAWSAT] Pak authorities are expected to release Shakil Afridi, a Pak doctor who helped the CIA hunt down al-Qaeda leader the late Osama bin Laden
... who is now sometimes referred to as Mister Bones...
 in Abbottabad
... A pleasant city located only 30 convenient miles from Islamabad. The city is noted for its nice weather and good schools. It is the site of Pakistain's military academy, which was within comfortable walking distance of the residence of the late Osama bin Laden....
, after being transferred to the city of Rawalpindi from Beautiful Downtown Peshawar
...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire.
, where he has been tossed in the clink
Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out!
 for seven years now.

The authorities tossed in the clink
Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw!
 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 Pakistain and the United States, which cut military aid over accusations Islamabad continues to shelter Talibs 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 Pakistain to release Afridi, according to Rooters.
Link


India-Pakistan
Dr Shakil Afridi moved from prison 'to safer location'
2018-04-28
[DAWN] Dr Shakil Afridi, known for helping track down 9/11 criminal mastermind the late Osama bin Laden
... who is now sometimes referred to as Mister Bones...
 has been moved by authorities from a prison in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar
...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire.
 to an unknown safer location, an official and family member said Friday.

Afridi has been languishing in prison for almost eight years after his fake vaccination programme helped United States agents track and kill the Al Qaeda leader.

A top prison official in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa told AFP that Afridi was moved by intelligence officials to the safer place late Thursday.

When asked the reasons behind moving the doctor, the official told AFP, "I was informed in writing that they are moving him due to security reasons.

Jamil Afridi, the doctor's brother, confirmed to AFP that he had been informed by government officials that "Shakil has been moved to a safer place."

Afridi was locked away
I ain't sayin' nuttin' widdout me mout'piece!
 for 33 years in May 2012 after he was convicted of ties to hard boys, a charge he has always denied.

Link


Home Front: Politix
Ex-CIA Officer Abandoned by Obama: Without DJT Admin, ‘I Would Be Spending Tonight in an Italian Prison'
2017-03-04
[Breitbart] Former CIA case officer Sabrina De Sousa thanked the Trump administration for intervening to save her from extradition to Italy and imprisonment in a statement on Friday.

"I want to extend my deepest appreciation to the Trump administration for all their efforts on my behalf. Without their support I would be spending tonight in an Italian prison," said De Sousa, in a statement quoted by Fox News.

"The Obama administration and former CIA Director John Brennan abandoned De Sousa the last seven years, and in six weeks, the Trump team made her freedom possible," Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI) told Fox News.
Skipping down a bit to a very interesting comparison:
Rep. Hoekstra compared De Sousa’s case to President Obama’s abandonment of Pakistani doctor Shakil Afridi, who played a crucial role in the hunt for Osama bin Laden.
Link


India-Pakistan
Pakistan refuses to grant new ID cards to Bin Laden doctor's family
2017-02-02
Pakistan has refused to grant identity cards to the family of Shakil Afridi, the jailed doctor who helped the US hunt Osama bin Laden, his lawyer has said, in effect denying them passports and voting rights.

Afridi has been in prison for more than five years after his fake vaccination programme helped the CIA track and kill the al-Qaida leader.

His lawyer, Qamar Nadim, said officials were refusing to renew Afridi’s wife’s ID card, which expired in December, because her husband’s card had lapsed in 2014. He has also been denied a new card. Officials were similarly refusing to grant new cards to his two children, said Nadim, who has been denied access to his client for more than two years.

ID cards are a key proof of citizenship in Pakistan. Without one, Pakistanis cannot get passports or vote, register for a phone number or get utilities installed, buy property or enrol children in school, and could face delays at security checkpoints, among other things.

“Why are they punishing the entire family? It’s not justice, it’s cruelty,” Nadim said. He said he would challenge the decision in a court in the north-western city of Peshawar this week.

Officials from the interior ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The refusal to grant ID cards means Afridi’s son and daughter face problems getting admission to college, the doctor’s brother, Jamil, said. “So the family can’t go abroad and the children are facing difficulties in continuing their education.”

Afridi was jailed for 33 years in May 2012 after he was convicted of ties to militants, a charge he has always denied. Some American politicians said the case was revenge for his help in the search for Bin Laden.

Last year a US threat to cut aid to Pakistan led a tribunal to cut 10 years off his sentence – but since then US pressure for his release has tapered off.

Donald Trump vowed during his election campaign last May that he would order Pakistan to free Afridi.

“I’m sure they would let them [him] out. Because we give a lot of aid to Pakistan,” Trump told Fox News at the time, adding that Pakistan “takes advantage like everybody else”.

The comments sparked a blistering rebuttal from Pakistan, whose interior minister branded Trump “ignorant” and stated the “government of Pakistan and not Donald Trump” would decide Afridi’s fate.
Link


India-Pakistan
US Congress approves aid, with caveats
2016-12-11
[DAWN] Both chambers of the United States Congress have finally passed the 2017 National Defence Authorisation Act, which includes $1.1 billion for reimbursing the nations supporting US military operations in Afghanistan.

The largest chunk from this amount, $900 million, is available for reimbursement to Pakistain but almost half of it, $400m, has been put out of its reach. To get those $400m, Pakistain will have to get a ’good conduct’ certificate from the US defence secretary.

Like a schoolmaster waiving the punishment given to a student, the defence secretary will have to certify that Pakistain is "taking demonstrable" steps against the Haqqani network of Afghan Lion of Islams.

The measures also include a "sense of Congress that Dr Shakil Afridi is an international hero and that the government of Pakistain should release him immediately from prison".

Dr Afridi led US forces to the compound where Al Qaeda leader the late Osama bin Laden
... who doesn't live anywhere anymore...
 was hiding and is regarded in the Western world, particularly in the US, as an international hero.

Passed by the Senate by 92 to seven votes on Thursday and by the House of Representatives by 375 to 34 votes last week, the bill now goes to the White House for President Barack Obama
I am not a dictator!...
to sign it into law.

Link



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