The sham trial of Dr Shakil Afridi conducted in the tribal area on the charge of ‘conspiracy against the state’ and ‘high treason’ is a mockery of justice, as no opportunity was provided to him to defend himself or to engage a counsel. Such a trial has brought disgrace and shame to Pakistan when the prime minister himself conceded in his statement that whatever Dr Afridi did was wrong, but that he should get justice from normal courts, which implies that justice has not been done to him.
Does helping a foreign state in catching a most-wanted terrorist like Osama bin Laden constitute a wrong act? In my opinion, he should be honoured and awarded a medal for helping to bring to justice a most-wanted criminal who spread terrorism and extremism throughout the world and whose followers are mimicking his ideology. It is a most disgraceful and shameful act on the part of Pakistan to punish a citizen who helped a foreign state in eliminating terrorism and extremism, as Pakistan itself is experiencing and suffering from such acts.
Robert Fisk has rightly predicted that the good doctor “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 Clinton has re-endowed Pakistan with its missing $33 million.”
A S PINGAR
Karachi. June 4.