An anti-terrorism court yesterday jailed two Pakistani doctors for seven years for helping injured Al-Qaeda militants and local extremists, court officials said. Heart specialist Akmal Waheed and his brother, orthopedic surgeon Arshad Waheed, were detained here in July 2004 for alleged ties to Osama Bin Laden's network. The brothers were also accused of having links with a radical group blamed for a deadly attack on the convoy of a Pakistan army commander in Karachi. "Evidence against them is sufficient, therefore, they have been given the maximum punishment, which is seven years," judge Feroz Mahmood Bhatti said in his verdict. Each were also ordered to pay a fine of 50,000 rupees ($839).The court found the pair had provided medical aid to militants from the Al-Qaeda-linked Jundullah, or Army of God, which was blamed for the attack on Lt. Gen. Ahsan Saleem Hayat convoy in June last year. That attack left 11 people dead, including seven soldiers, three policemen and a passer-by. Hayat, who narrowly escaped the attack, is now working as vice chief of the army staff. Both doctors were also charged with providing medical treatment to two foreign Al-Qaeda operatives, Abu Hashim and Abu Mussab, and sending local militants for training in the lawless tribal areas near the Afghan border.
The verdict was announced in a makeshift court room inside Karachi's Central Prison. Later the pair told reporters they would appeal against the decision within seven days. "We provided medical aid to Afghan refugees after the 2001 US attacks on Afghanistan. It is our job to provide medical treatment to anyone, we have no regrets and we would continue with our duty," Arshad Waheed said. Their lawyer, Ghulam Qadir Jatoi, added: "This is a fit case for appeal as there is no evidence."