Landmark Court Order: Dr. Shakil Afridi's Family Cleared From Exit Control List, Exposing Flaws in Security Agencies' Actions

In a significant development, a top Pakistani court has ordered the removal of the names of Dr. Shakil Afridi's wife and children from the Exit Control List (ECL). Dr. Afridi has been incarcerated since 2011 for assisting the CIA in tracking down al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The order was issued by a single-member bench of the Peshawar High Court, following a writ petition filed by Imrana Shakil, Afridi's wife. The ECL is a list of individuals prohibited from leaving Pakistan for various legal reasons.

Afridi's lawyer, Arif Jan Afridi, informed the court that his client had been arrested on spying charges for the United States and sentenced to 23 years in prison by Pakistani courts. Imrana Shakil and her children's names had been placed on the ECL by the government, preventing them from moving anywhere. The counsel argued that no crime had been proven against Imrana Shakil, and she had not been arrested. Their names were added to the ECL solely based on reports. The Deputy Attorney General countered, stating that their names were included in the ECL based on reports from security agencies.

However, due to the current caretaker government, it did not have the authority to remove the names from the list. Delivering the verdict, Justice Abdul Shakoor emphasized that security agencies have no authority to place any name on the ECL. "When they have not committed any crime, how can their names be placed on the ECL? Placing their names on the ECL is illegal," Justice Shakoor argued. Dr. Shakil Afridi, in his early 60s, was a prominent doctor in the Khyber tribal district and oversaw several US-funded vaccination programs as head of health services. He is accused of running a fake vaccination campaign in Abbottabad to aid the CIA in tracking down Osama bin Laden.

Bin Laden was killed in a covert US raid on May 2, 2011. Afridi was arrested in Peshawar later that year. Initially, Afridi was charged with organizing the fake immunization campaign for the CIA to verify Osama bin Laden's presence. He was initially sentenced to 33 years in prison on multiple charges of anti-state activities and supporting militant outfits. However, his sentence was later reduced to 23 years. This court ruling marks a significant turn of events for the wife and children of Dr. Shakil Afridi, offering them the possibility of moving freely after being unjustly included on the ECL. It also raises questions about the legality of placing names on the ECL without concrete evidence or charges being proven.