Pakistan tribunal adjourns hearing in Osama Bin Laden doctor case

PESHAWAR: The hearing of an appeal against the conviction of a doctor, who helped CIA track al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan, has been adjourned till next month as local administration is yet to provide records pertaining to the case.

The tribunal, headed by Chairman Sang Marjan, remarked that the hearing of the case against Dr Shakil Afridi has been adjourned till November 18 and asked the Khyber Agency's government to provide relevant documents related to the case.

As many as 16 sessions had passed already without any proceedings due to non-availability of the records.

The tribunal also said that if the record of the case was not provided on next date of hearing, then the political agent of the local administration would be summoned.

Afridi ran a fake hepatitis immunisation drive in Pakistan's Abbottabad district as cover for an operation to find the 9/11 mastermind and was convicted in 2012 for having ties to militants and sentenced for 33 years in prison.

Last year, a tribunal reduced his sentence by ten years but Afridi filed an appeal in March seeking bail and a fresh trial.