A. Majeed—AFP
Two militant groups claim responsibility for killing, adding they will target any lawyers who try to defend the doctor.
A former lawyer of Shakeel Afridi, the Pakistani doctor who helped the CIA in the hunt for Osama bin Laden, was shot dead near Peshawar on Tuesday, officials said.
Two militant groups claimed responsibility for the attack on Samiullah Afridi, who had faced threats for representing doctor Shakeel Afridi, on the outskirts of Peshawar. Afridi was returning from a village, Mathra, when unknown gunmen sprayed bullets on his car, said Mian Saeed, a senior police official. “According to initial reports, two gunmen fired on his car from both sides and escaped after the attack,” he said.
Another police official Shakirullah Bangash confirmed the incident and said that a search operation was being conducted in the area to trace the attackers. Fahad Marwat, a spokesman for the militant group Jandullah called AFP soon after the incident and claimed responsibility for the killing. Later in the evening, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan also called AFP and claimed the attack.
“We killed Samiullah Afridi for supporting Shakeel Afridi and will also target other lawyers who are providing legal assistance to him,” he said.
The deceased lawyer said in 2014 that he had decided to withdraw from the doctor’s case after he received threats against his life for providing legal aid to him.
The CIA recruited Afridi for a fake vaccination program in a bid to confirm the 9/11 mastermind was living in Abbottabad. The plan was to use the drive as cover to collect DNA material after vaccinating bin Laden’s children as a way of positively identifying the Al Qaeda leader.
The doctor was convicted under Pakistan’s tribal justice system and jailed to 33 years in 2012 for having ties to militants. Last year a tribunal cut 10 years off his sentence.
Some U.S. lawmakers have said the case was revenge for his help in the search for the Al Qaeda chief.