Taliban attempt to kidnap family of CIA informant Dr. Shakil Afridi

Family of Dr. Shakil Afridi has been facing threats from Taliban and extremists. In a recent attempt, Taliban tried to kidnap brother and other family members of the doctor, as they want to settle the score with the family. Taliban consider the family as one of their worst enemies for allegedly being agents of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The wife of the doctor is hiding somewhere in the Punjab province. She has been dismissed from her job of the principal at a school for prolonged absence. The family is being persecuted and awarded punishment for a crime that they never committed.

Dr. Shakil Afridi is the man who helped the CIA track down the world’s most dangerous terrorist, Osama Bin Laden. He ran a fake vaccination campaign in Abbottabad, a garrison city where Bin Laden was residing with his wives and children, to trace the terrorist. He succeeded in his mission. Following vital leads from the doctor, the United States Navy Seals launched a secret operation on May 2 in the garrison city and eliminated Osama Bin Laden in a compound. A few weeks later, Dr. Afridi was arrested by the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan for his alleged links with militant organizations.

A few months later his arrest, a tribal court awarded 33 years imprisonment to Dr. Afridi for his links with Lashkar-e-Islami, a militant outfit that operates in Swat and tribal areas of Pakistan. The doctor was charged for supporting the outfit against Pakistan army. He is now languishing in Peshawar jail and waiting for some help from the United States, for which he worked for to track down one of the world’s most wanted terrorists. On the other hand, family of the doctor is also not safe, as Taliban and other terrorist outfits continue to follow them. On Monday, Taliban attempted to kidnap the brother and other family members of Dr. Afridi, but fortunately luck favored them.

A man impersonating as a close aide of Afghan President Hamid Karzai called on Dr. Afridi’s lawyer in Peshawar and said the president wanted to help the family. He told the lawyer to ask the family to visit Afghanistan and meet Hamid Karzai. The man identified himself as Haji Hukam Khan. However, it transpired later that the Afghan government sent no man to the lawyer of Dr. Afridi nor President Karzai intended to help the CIA informant. The family of the doctor said the man was a member of Taliban and wanted to kidnap them.