FCR reserves judgment in Osama doc Shakeel Afridi case

Afridi's lawyers appealed against his conviction and requested the court to declare the judgment null and void

The Commissioner of Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) has reportedly reserved his judgment in case of Dr Shakil Afridi, who helped the US in tracking slain Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden to his hideout in Abbottabad.

The review petition case was submitted to the Fata Tribunal and heard by Commissioner Frontier Crime Regulation (FCR) capt (retd) Munir Azam.

According to Dawn News, Afridi's lawyers Samiullah and Qamar Nadeem appealed against his conviction and requested the court to declare the judgment null and void.

They further appealed that Afridi should be given a chance and be heard by a jirga under the FCR law.

The report said that after hearing the arguments, the commission reserved its judgement and the final decision is expected to be out on March 15.

Afridi was sentenced on May 23, 2012 to 33 years in prison and fined Rs 320,000 on charges of colluding with Lashkar-i-Islam (LI) and its chief, Mangal Bagh.

However, the tribal court had not entertained evidence relating to Afridi's involvement with the CIA, citing lack of jurisdiction and his sentence was overturned and a retrial was ordered, the report added.