[Dawn] DR Shakil Afridi has been sentenced to 33 years in prison for assisting CIA in its search for the late Osama bin Laden... who is no more...
in Pakistain. His sentence is likely to renew the debate on what constitutes patriotism and treason in this (joint) war against militancy. Much of the discourse is bound to focus on the hatching of a conspiracy of which Dr Afridi's fake vaccination scheme was a part. While the proponents of this view would have some justification to question a unilateral US operation on Pak soil of which Pakistain was not informed, other aspects of the debate should be considered before Dr Afridi's sentence is endorsed. First, was the forum that heard the doctor's case competent enough? The PPP-led government has time and again expressed a wish to do away with the Frontier Crimes Regulation. The law has survived and perhaps for some legal minds treason can be tried under it. What about geographical jurisdiction? Although Dr Afridi was posted in Khyber, the location of his 'treasonous' act in Abbottabad
... A pleasant city located only 30 convenient miles from Islamabad. The city is noted for its nice weather and good schools. It is the site of Pakistain's military academy, which was within comfortable walking distance of the residence of the late Osama bin Laden....
is a fair distance from the tribal areas where the FCR is usually applied. The accused was denied a lawyer as a group of elders in Bara deliberated on his fate. Why was he not tried in a regular court guided by Pakistain's penal law -- or would that have thrown up some unsavoury facts?
Second, the US had a multimillion-dollar bounty on Bin Laden. The temptation to help US authorities track down the world's most wanted terrorist would have been too great, especially in the absence of a clear warning from the Pak state to its nationals of the consequences of helping America locate dangerous snuffies in return for huge rewards. In fact, American targets have been busted here before. This could not have been possible without local intelligence and logistical contacts -- none of whom have been tried.
Third, the unilateral operation naturally led to anger on Pakistain's part -- but was the target of its wrath worth it? The truth is that Pakistain's illusory sovereignty would have been better protected with better vigilance, and -- something that the US should also note -- an effort by both Pakistain and the US to undertake aggressive joint operations against suspected terrorists. Unfortunately, the absence of a clear-cut definition of Pakistain-US ties in the war against militancy has hindered not only a sound counterterrorism measure but also one that would have helped bridge differences. In all this, Dr Afridi's actual crime has been ignored: the fake vaccination campaign, abetted by the CIA, went against all ethics of the medical profession, and may intensify the already existing misconceptions among some families regarding vaccination for their children.