Dr Shakeel Afridi, the follower.

Writer: IJLAL AHMAD KHATTAK

Recently, the issue of Dr. Shakeel Afridi arrest and conviction has raised many questions in different circles as well as among the youth,

 For some he termed to be a traitor, while some consider him a spy and an agent still there are some which argued “Dr. Shakeel Afridi is an angel in disguise”

Whatever the background of all these circles are, but one think that comes quite clear and loud is the country is ideologically split over the basic concept of decade long war on terror in this region.

If we consider him a traitor for his role in helping the US eliminate Osama Bin Ladin by providing   the  information about the world most dangerous character,  then the question arise that what we called those who handed over hundreds and thousands of Pakistani to  united state of America which are interrogated in guantanamubay  and about whom the than president of Pakistan  Gen Musharaf wrote in his book “ In the line of fire” and admitted that he handed over people as per the demand of USA and received handsome money in return. Was musharaf act lawful and did not attract provisions of treason? If we look at case of Musharaf and Dr. Shakeel Afridi both worked for the same country and in return received payment for their act, but one was given Guard of honor and the other was given 33 year of imprisonment under the controversial tribal law FCR. Why this discrimination between the two? In fact there are many among us who believe that , Dr Shakeel Afridi should have been given highest award for helping CIA in tracking Osama bin Laden, who was the giant terrorist and US waged a war against him in Afghanistan in order to kill him but were failed to do so.

But for many it was a heroic and courageous act on the part of Dr Shakeel Afridi, they are of the opinion that his efforts in eliminating the biggest threat to the world peace of OBL and weakening of al Qaeda and its affiliates. He being the leader of the militant organization Al Qaida had the blood of thousands of innocent men, women and children on his hands, and become the reason for bringing bad name to Islam in specific and Muslim umma in general, and had also become the reason for US who killed millions of muslim men, women and children just because of one man “Osama bin Laden”. They consider Osama bin Laden and his militant organization al-Qaida as the solemnly responsible for bring Pakistan and Afghanistan in this bloody war.

Most of the people and columnist quoted Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai an American national spying for Pakistan and Pollard the US citizen spying for Israel were traitor, but the question arises whether the situation of the above two alike to that of Dr Shakeel Afridi or not. The answer to this question is no because the above two were spying for one country against another where as the case of Dr Shakeel Afridi is totally different, he spied against the world most wanted terrorist which has been declared the father of terrorism and all the leader of the world had shown consensus for declaring him terrorist.

But still there are some who called him neither a hero nor a traitor but just a spy, with a logic that what he did was driven by monitory benefits, so calling him a hero is unjust to those who are the real hero’s for the world, and calling him a traitor would also be unjust because what he did was not against the nation or the country but was to follow the flow of money.