The
Express Tribune reports that
in the aftermath of the sentencing
of Doctor Shakeel Afridi, who was
accused of assisting the American
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
in tracking down slain al Qaeda
leader Osama bin Laden, another
twist emerged on May 26 when the
(Federally Administered Tribal Areas)
FATA Lawyers Forum (FLF) refused
to extend any legal help to the
former Government surgeon. Members
of Aman Tehreek and some FATA lawyers
had earlier submitted an application
at the Peshawar Central Jail, seeking
Afridi’s approval for power of attorney.
However, FLF lawyers issued a statement
whereby they refused to offer any
legal support to Afridi. On the
other hand, Aman Tehreek leader
Idrees Kamal maintained that a panel
of lawyers including the FLF President
was helping the body to defend Afridi
in the court. “We still await the
signed copy of the power of attorney
as well as the copy of the case
itself from the political administration,”
said Kamal. “Some FNF lawyers are
helping us in their personal capacities,”
he added.
Separately,
Dawn on May 27 (today) reported
that the conviction of Doctor Shakeel
Afridi by the Assistant Political
Agent (APA) in Bara tehsil
(revenue unit) of Khyber Agency
has given birth to several questions
and also exposed lacunas in the
controversial judicial system in
FATA. In a blatant manner the APA
while sentencing Afridi after conclusion
of a so-called trial under the Frontier
Crimes Regulation (FCR) not only
violated provisions of the FCR but
also showed disregard to several
judgments of the Peshawar High Court.
Under the law the APA could not
sentence a convict to more than
14 years imprisonment in any offence,
whereas in the instant case he sentenced
the convict to a total of 33 years
prison term.
While
the tribal administration is yet
to release the order and complete
details about the arrest and conviction
of Afridi, so far the only information
provided by the administration is
that a council of elders was constituted
under section 11 of the FCR and
in the light of the findings of
the council the APA convicted and
sentenced the accused on four counts.
The controversial aspect of the
issue is that the APA ordered that
the four sentences would run consecutively
and not concurrently, thus the total
prison term of the convict is 33
years, which is contrary to the
powers of the APA.
Meanwhile,
Daily Times reports that
a high-level meeting will review
security arrangements for Doctor
Shakeel Afridi. Official sources
said on May 26 that the meeting
would consider whether the jailed
CIA informant should remain in a
Peshawar prison or shifted somewhere
else for security reasons. “We will
take stock of present security arrangements
made for the safety of Doctor Shakeel
and that what threats he might be
facing,” sources said. Sources said
intelligence reports had warned
authorities that militants inside
the Peshawar prison might harm Doctor
Shakeel. | 
