State Department, White House for Shakil Afridi’s release

WASHINGTON: The US State Department and the White House pressed Pakistan to release Dr Shakil Afridi, who helped US hunt down al-Qaeda Chief Osama bin Laden.

The demand came as Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is sitting with President Barack Obama.

A White House spokesman said; “Afridi did a good job and he should not have been “treated like that”.

Similarly, a US State Department Spokeswoman said that Washington had apprised Pakistan of its concerns regarding Dr Afridi.

She said that war against terrorism was a war against a joint enemy of Pakistan and the United States.

She said that the US got access to Osama bin Laden through intelligence information, adding that Washington seeks strong relations with Islamabad.