Measures taken to strengthen Adiala Jail's security
Prison currently houses Dr Shakeel Afridi who was imprisoned after he assisted US take down Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad
May 09, 2018
RAWALPINDI: The security of Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail has been strengthened, sources informed Geo News on Wednesday.
The prison currently houses Dr Shakeel Afridi who was imprisoned over his role in the killing of Osama bin Laden.
Sources said that an anti-aircraft gun has also been installed at the prison, adding that security personnel have been deployed separately for Afridi’s security.
Afridi, who was jailed after being convicted in a treason case, was shifted to Adiala Jail on April 27 from Peshawar jail.
The high-profile prisoner was airlifted by a helicopter from Peshawar jail and taken to Adiala Jail late last month, sources said.
Soon after the death of Osama bin Laden in May 2011 in a US raid in Abbottabad, the US media reported that Afridi had contributed to the success of the CIA operation by collecting DNA samples of bin Laden's family by order of the intelligence agency.
Then-CIA director Leon Panetta and then-US secretary of state Hillary Clinton had confirmed the doctor's role in eliminating the terrorist, after which Afridi was arrested by Pakistani authorities.
On May 1, a Russian news agency had claimed that the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) failed to conduct an operation to stage a prison break for Pakistani doctor Shakil Afridi.
The news agency had cited a source familiar with the situation. The report, quoting another source, stated that Washington had earlier requested Islamabad to extradite Afridi to the US.
The source went on to suggest that Afridi's release and extradition is crucial for other CIA operations in Asia.
