US mulls citizenship for bin Laden informer
05 February, 2012
WASHINGTON: A group of congressmen has sought US citizenship for jailed Pakistani doctor Shakeel Afridi, who helped CIA track down and kill al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden last year. A congressional legislation has been introduced in the US House of Representatives seeking citizenship for the doctor, who is currently in a Pakistani jail for "treason". "Today I have introduced legislation to grant American citizenship to Dr Shakeel Afridi, the Pakistan medical doctor who risked his life to identify Osama Bin Laden and help US military forces bring him to justice," Congressman Dana Rohrabacher said. If convicted, he could be executed, the lawmaker from California said. "My bill would grant him US citizenship and send a direct and powerful message to those in the Pakistani government and military who protected the mastermind of 9/11 for all those years and who are now seeking retribution on those who helped to execute Bin Laden," Rohrabacher said in the House of Representatives. The Afridi citizenship bill has been endorsed by more than a dozen top congressmen, including Bill Posey and Roscoe Bartlett. "This bill shows the world that America does not abandon its friends," Rohrabacher said. End.
|
