Case of Pakistani who helped CIA track bin Laden adjourned

PESHAWAR, Pakistan – A Pakistani court has given the prosecution two weeks to prepare a response to the appeal by convicted Pakistani physician who ran a fake vaccination campaign in the country to help CIA confirm Osama bin Laden’s whereabouts.

Wednesday’s adjournment was the first following a petition from Dr Shakil Afridi, who was sentenced to 33 years in 2012 by a tribal court on charges of funding a domestic militant group and treating its members.

That case is separate from the doctor’s alleged involvement with the CIA, for which Afridi was never formally charged.

Pakistan was outraged over being kept in the dark ahead of the May 2011 Navy SEALs operation that killed the al-Qaida mastermind.

Washington has demanded Afridi’s release but Islamabad has resisted the demand, saying he violated Pakistani law.