Pakistan boots Save the Children staff over links to doctor Shakil Afridi, who helped CIA
Pakistani doctor Shakil Afridi seen over an image of Osama bin Laden's now-leveled compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
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CBS/AP
(CBS News) ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has ordered Save the Children's foreign staff members to leave the country within two weeks - a decision apparently taken over the government's suspicions that the global charity facilitated a false vaccination program that may have helped the CIA track down Osama bin Laden in the northern city of Abbottabad last year.
"I can confirm that the Pakistani government has asked our expatriate staff to leave the country within two weeks. Altogether, this decision will affect six of our non Pakistani colleagues", Ghulam Qadri, the group's head of program and planning in Islamabad, told CBS News. Qadri said Pakistani authorities had given his organization no explanation for the expulsion.
A senior Pakistani government official who deals with security affairs, however, told CBS News on condition of anonymity that the decision was prompted by, "the reluctance of Save the Children to cooperate with the Pakistani government" in the case of Doctor Shakil Afridi.
Afridi was arrested by Pakistani police and intelligence agencies following the May 2011 raid by a U.S. Navy SEAL team, which ended in bin Laden's death.
The Pakistani doctor worked with the CIA in its effort to locate bin Laden, but Pakistani officials insisted to CBS News in May 2012 that he was sentenced to 33 years for conspiring with a prominent Islamic militant, not for the assistance he provided to the CIA.
Pakistan's government and military, however, were hugely embarrassed and angered by the U.S. raid - of which they were given no prior knowledge - and his arrest is widely believed to be directly related to his relationship with the American spy agency.
The U.S. government continues lobbying for Afridi's release.
Pakistani officials initially said Afridi's arrest was tied to a fake vaccination program he ran in the months leading up to bin Laden's killing, which attempted to obtained blood samples from some of bin Laden's family members to establish his presence.
The senior Pakistani official who spoke to CBS News about the expulsion of the charity workers said Pakistani authorities had asked "specific questions about the exact nature of support extended by Save the Children to Doctor Afridi. Save the Children continues to drag its feet. They have not been forthcoming, so we have had to take this step."
A Pakistani intelligence official who spoke to CBS News after Afridi's arrest last year claimed samples collected from Abbottabad may have been used by the CIA to match against samples of bin Laden's family members provided by Saudi authorities.
However, two nurses who work at a local clinic in Abbottabad have told CBS News that they were repeatedly asked by Afridi to gather the blood samples from the bin Laden compound, but never managed to get in the door - casting doubt on the level to which Afridi's efforts ever even yielded results for the FBI.
Save the Children's Qadri denies all the allegations against the charity. He confirmed that Afridi had participated in at least three training programs organized by the charity, but told CBS News, "Save the Children has never directly or indirectly funded Doctor Afridi's work."
Qadri told CBS News that in spite of the looming expulsion of his foreign staff, "our local staff will continue to work in Pakistan. Altogether, we have about two thousand Pakistani staff members. Hopefully, our programs for the benefit of the people of Pakistan will not be affected".
This story was edited by CBSNews.com foreign editor Tucker Reals.
So because this doctor did the right thing & helped us rid the world of an infamous terrorist, Pakistan decides its poor children should suffer (even more than they already do) in retaliation. Pakistan got caught with its pants down yet again, so they act embarrassed & defiant. All children & verified non-militant adults should be moved out of the country, then the entire nation should be "swept clean", to put it nicely. Maybe just leave a black hole in the face of the earth where Pakistan used to be. Seriously though, I don't really advocate such extreme measures, but perhaps it's time the USA gave up on Pakistan & aligned more strongly with India.
"doctor did the right thing" is that true, how would we treat a citizen if he collaborated with a Iran's spy agency to locate someone in US? He damaged already weak polio vaccination drive in Pakistan and will result in a few innocent children missing the vaccine but he did the right thing.
With friends like Pakistan who then needs enemies? .It is often said by various diplomats That Pakistan is Key to the "relations game" in the Middle East and I believe that is so , but how do we use that key? What lock do we open ? Now , of course , there are others that fit the same conundrum . Russia , China , Saudi Arabia , various African Nations and others , all to varying degrees . I leave out Afghanistan because they have not been house broken yet . It will be interesting to see what Mitt Romney has in his Oriental bag of tricks . Somehow , I believe that we are in for a string of frustrations and major disappointments in the future no matter who wins this election.
We should just leave Pakistan if we don't need them. Are they forcing our hands to be there? There re two sides to the story but unfortunately we get only our side. Have we forgotten that we used Pakistan soil to fly U2 to spy on Russia, what did Pakistan get? They had the best growth rate in region before they got themselves involved in US/Soviet Union war in Afghanistan and invited all terrorists to fight Soviet Union. It was OK for terrorists to be labelled Mujaheddin when they fight Soviet Union but not OK when they turn on us and Pakistan
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Yeah... and Mark Basseley Youssef was sentenced for a "probation violation," not for making "Innocence of Muslims."