The Pakistani doctor, who helped United States track Al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden, has gone on a hunger strike in prison.

Islamabad, Nov 29/NationalTurk- Shakil Afridi, the Pakistani doctor who helped United States track Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, has gone on a hunger strike in jail.

According to Pakistani prison officials in the northwestern city of Peshawar, restrictions have been imposed on Afridi after he gave interviews to journalists and talked to family members in September this year on mobile phone of a security guard by bribing him.

They said an investigation following the September interview found that Afridi had bribed the jail guards to use their cell phones to speak to journalists, family and friends, making a total of 58 calls.

“As a punishment to Afridi, we have kept him in a solitary confinement. We won’t allow him to have visitors nor speak to anyone by telephone,” the officials said adding they have barred  his family members and lawyers from meeting him.

They said to protest against the restrictions, Afridi had gone on a hunger strike. “He has begun a hunger strike,” they said.

Afridi’s lawyer, Samiullah Afridi was quoted as saying by Pakistani media that Afridi was not  allowed to meet with him, his brother and other family members. “He is a human being and would definitely be frustrated enough to begin a hunger strike,” he said.

However, it is not clear since when has Afridi been on hunger strike.

America hailed Afridi as hero

United States officials have  hailed Shakil Afridi as a hero for helping pinpoint Bin Laden’s location before the May 2011 Navy Seals raid that killed the al Qaeda chief.

Pakistani court has sentenced Afridi, who was detained by Pakistan intelligence agencies immediately after the US raid killed Bin Laden,  to 33 years in jail for his links to a banned militant group. The decision was widely seen as punishment for helping the US intelligence agencies find the al Qaeda Chief.

According to Pakistan intelligence agencies,  Afridi had been working with the CIA for years before the Bin Laden raid, providing intelligence on militant groups in Pakistan’s tribal region.

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Faiz Ahmad / NationalTurk Pakistan News

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