U.S. condemn punish Pakistan for alleged CIA informant

A committee of the U.S. Senate decided to reduce by 33 million dollars (26.2 million) to U.S. support to Pakistan after the country have condemned Shakil Afridi, a Pakistani doctor, to 33 years in prison for helped the CIA to find Osama bin Laden. The cut corresponds to one million dollars for each year of the sentence.

The amendment, proposed by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, was unanimously approved and reduces by 33 million dollars (26 million), support for Islamabad. Agence France Press reports that the value chosen by the U.S. Senate symbolizes the number of years in prison for the doctor who was convicted in Pakistan. "We need Pakistan, Pakistan needs us, but we do not need Pakistan playing a double game and without justice in order to see Osama bin Laden, "said Sen. Lindsey Graham. Afridi Shakil, 50, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the justice system of Pakistan's tribal district of Khyber in the first instance. Beyond imprisonment, the doctor was required to pay a fine of $ 3,500 (2783 euros) which, if not paid, it increases the jail time in over three years. He was accused of treason for allegedly pretending to carry out a vaccination program against hepatitis B among children of Osama bin Laden, former leader of Al Qaeda in the complex where everyone lived in Abbottabad, in order to collect DNA samples to deliver to the CIA. It is considered by the tribal court, a spy, even though it is unclear whether the doctor knew who was in charge of a mission for the CIA at the time of the events. "Shakil did not really know who was looking for Bin Laden," said Shaukat Qadir, a former Pakistani military investigated the attack on Abbottabad and has been aware of the details of the interrogation Afridi, according to BBC news. "But he should have notified the Pakistani authorities of its activities," he adds. "In the case of Dr. Afridi is concerned that the it has acted in accordance with the laws of Pakistan and what is decided by the courts in Pakistan, and countries need to respect the legal processes of each other, "he told reporters Moazzam Khan, a spokesman for the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Pakistan insisted in a statement to the agencies, than any other country would have done the same if he discovered that one of its nationals was working as a spy for a foreign nation. Afridi was not present at his own trial and could not therefore give your version of events. are confined to a prison cell in Peshawar. Appropriations Committee had already scheduled for the budget that President Barack Obama made ​​to Pakistan in order to compensate the executive Pakistani cooperation in fighting terrorism. Applications for Obama was reduced by 58 percent. The same committee also approved the reduction of support already provided to Afghanistan and Iraq. The overall budget for foreign aid for the next year was cut by more than half and there may be further reductions to Pakistan if Islamabad does not open inland transport routes for the entry of NATO forces (led by the U.S.) in Afghanistan. These routes were closed after, during an attack on Afghanistan in November 2011, coordinated by the U.S. army on the side of the border with Pakistan, 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed.

"The court sees Al Qaeda as Pakistan,"

Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Afridi denied being a spy in the service of the U.S. and said that Pakistan has suffered at the hands of terrorists and that, therefore, the Executive has difficulty understanding why the condemnation Afridi is a betrayal of diplomatic relations with the U.S.."This sentence tells me that Al Qaeda is seen by the court as Pakistan," Feinstein said, explaining why to rethink U.S. assistance to that country.did not start any diplomatic process, with Republicans and Democrats to position themselves in same perspective. Shakil Afridi was arrested yesterday and measures to punish the country were taken today. "It is arbitrary, but the hope is that Pakistan realizes that we are talking seriously," said number two in the Senate, Democrat Richard Durbin ."It's outrageous that [the Pakistanis] say that a man who helped us to find Osama bin Laden is a traitor," he added. Lindsey Graham has accused Pakistan of being an "ally schizophrenic" by helping the United States while terrorist network that helps Haqqani , a group with close links to Al Qaeda and the Taliban, which claimed authorship of several attacks against Americans. Democrat Patrick Leahy said the diplomatic relationship between the two countries was like "Alice in Wonderland , at best. If this is cooperation, would hate to see how the opposition. "

Condemnation was "unfair and unfounded"

The U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, had already ordered the release of medical Pakistan on Thursday, Shakil Afridi claiming that served both the interests of Americans and the Pakistanis, considering the sentence "unfair and unfounded." "Your help was essential to bring down one of the most notorious killers in the world, which was clearly in the interest of Pakistan as well as ours and the rest of the world, "Clinton told reporters, adding that the U.S. will continue pressing Islamabad to withdraw the charge of treason. Senator John McCain, Republican representative in the Armed Forces Committee, said the legislators agreed to retain some military aid to Pakistan until the Pakistani Secretary of Defense certifies that the country will fail to condemn people like Afridi. "We are all outraged by the prosecution and sentencing to 33 years in prison - virtually a death sentence - for the Pakistani doctor who was instrumental in the removal of Osama bin Laden, "McCain said, adding that Afridi was innocent of any wrongdoing. Secretary of Defense of the United States, Leon Panetta assured, in a tone of political threat that this type of action against someone who helped in the war against terrorism was "a mistake".