Dr Shakil Afridi, a Pakistani doctor serving a 33-year jail term for helping the CIA in tracking down al Qaeda ChiefOsama Bin Ladento Abbottabadin 2011 could be released this month after authorities remitted 10 years of his sentence, according to his Lawyer
The US has been pressing Pakistanto release Dr Afridi, who was involved in a CIA-linked plan to find bin Laden with a fake VaccinationOperationin the Pakistani garrison city of Abbottabad
AdvocateQamar Nadeemtold the BbcUrdu service that Afridi, who has received several remissions in sentence, will complete his jail term this month.
He said that Afridiwas awarded a total of 33 years jail term on four different charges in which he was awarded 30 years on three counts while three years on one. However, after an approval of his appeal, 10 years of imprisonment had been remitted, the Express Tribune reported.
According to Nadeem, if Afridi's total jail term and remissions are taken into consideration, then he is likely to be freed this month.
Afridi, 56, was shifted to Adiala Jailof Rawalpindifrom Peshawarcentral jail on Friday, apparently due to security concerns.
According to media reports, he was moved in a helicopter but no official statement was issued by the government. However, it is still not clear as to whether he will be kept in Adiala Jailor shifted to another location, the report said.
There is a chance that after his release, Afridimight move to the US to settle there permanently, it said.
A team of expert doctors has reportedly examined him in Adiala Jailand declared him completely fit. According to jail sources, he has been kept under strict security measures and additional guards have been posted at his barracks, it said.
Afridi, the former Surgeonof Khyber Agency, had run a false Vaccinationcampaign in the Pakistani garrison city of Abbottabadto help the CIA track down bin Laden in his compound and kill him in a raid by US Navy Seals on May 2, 2011.
He was arrested from Peshawarlater that year.
In 2012, he was sentenced to 33 years in prison by the political administration of Khyber Agencyunder the Frontier Crimes Regulation, the colonial-era laws that govern the tribal regions, for having links with banned militant groups.
The issue of Afridi's release is reportedly one of the major obstacles to the improvement of ties between the US and Pakistan
Soon after the death of bin Laden, the US media reported that Afridihad contributed to the success of the CIA operation by collecting DNA samples of bin Laden's family through the fake Vaccinationcampaign in Abbottabad
Two years ago, US PresidentDonald Trumphad said during his campaign for Presidential Electionsthat he could have Dr Afridireleased in two minutes and he was certain that the Pakistani officials would not object, the report said.
The Us State Departmenthas previously said that Dr Afridihas been unjustly imprisoned in Pakistanand Washingtonhas clearly communicated its position to Islamabadin his case, both in public and in private.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)