US seeks clarity on Dr Afridi sentence reports

WASHINGTON: United States on Wednesday said that it sought clarification from Pakistan on the issue of Dr Shakeel Afridi's sentence.

During a daily press briefing, State Department's spokesman Mark Toner said that US sought clarity on the 'new reason' being given by Pakistan for sentencing Dr Shakeel Afridi.

According to the court document, Dr Shakeel Afridi who helped the United States track down Osama bin Laden was jailed last week not for working with the CIA, but for ties to militants.

The judgment says the doctor met with commanders of the banned militant Lashkar-e-Islam, giving them medical treatment and financial help.

The US State Department's spokesman said "It seems to contrast previous reports about his conviction and the basis of it, so we're trying to get clarity," Toner said.

"I mean you know other than raising it very publicly as we've done via Secretary (of State, Hillary) Clinton and raising it consistently in our meetings with Pakistani government officials," Toner said.

"It's unclear to me what else we could do for his case, but we certainly take it very seriously, the secretary's very clear in her remarks saying that there's not any basis for holding Afridi," he added.