PESHAWAR, Oct 21: Dr Shakil Afridi, a former agency surgeon, on Monday approached the Federally Administered Tribal Areas Tribunal seeking orders for the political agent of Khyber Agency to conduct his fresh trial by giving him full opportunity to defend himself through lawyer in the case about support to a proscribed organisation.

A panel of lawyers, including Abdul Lateef Afridi, Samiullah Afridi and Qamar Nadeem Afridi, filed review petition with the three-member Fata Tribunal, the third and final judicial forum under the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR), against the order of the FCR commissioner to set aside their client’s (Dr Shakil) conviction by an assistant political agent and remand his case back to the political agent to weigh afresh the arguments of both the parties under law and rewaj (traditions).

Dr Shakil said the order of the FCR commissioner was vague and lacked clarity and therefore, it had been challenged before the tribunal so that clear instructions could be conveyed to the political agent/sessions judge.

He also challenged the order of the commissioner that he (petitioner) should not be released on bail until the final conclusion of the case.

The petitioner requested the tribunal that he may be set free on bail until final conclusion of his case.

Dr Shakil was picked up allegedly by an intelligence agency in May 2011 on suspicion of helping the American CIA to trace Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden by carrying out a fake vaccination campaign in Abbottabad. However, he was not convicted on that charge.

The APA/additional district magistrate convicted him on May 23, 2012 on charges of being involved in anti-state activities by supporting Bara-based Lashkar-i-Islam, and sentenced him on different counts to a total of 33 years imprisonment.

FCR Commissioner Sahibzada Anees partially allowed his appeal on Aug 29, 2013, and remanded the case to the political agent.

The FCR commissioner delivered a single-page judgment.

The only reason he had given in the verdict for remanding the case back is: “I am of the view that such a serious nature case should have been tried by the Political Agent himself under proper law and rewaj (traditions) so as to ensure absence of iota of any doubt regarding merit and transparency and therefore, the subject case is remanded back to political agent/session judge Khyber Agency in order to weigh afresh the arguments of both parties under law and rewaj.”

Dr Afridi said in his petition that his counsel approached the trial court after the order of the commissioner they were informed that the case would be decided afresh after arguments of both the parties including the prosecution and defense.

He said under law and rewaj, the witnesses must testify in presence of both the parties but in the case in question, the whole proceedings were conducted and initiated in absence of petitioner and therefore, the commissioner had declared the trial unfair.

The petitioner said under the law, it was the right of every accused to defend himself through counsel and cross-examine witnesses but in the case, neither an opportunity of defence nor the right of cross examination was given to the petitioner.

He said as the case had been remanded back to the political agent to hear it as a sessions judge, he was bound by the law to make a fresh order of reference, refer the case to a new jirga (council of elders) with the consent of the petitioner, and the trial court must summon the jirga members as well as the witnesses in presence of petitioner and that after fulfilling the legal formalities the trial court must pass a just and reasonable order.

Dr Afridi also prayed the tribunal to issue orders for his trial inside the Peshawar Central Prison, where he is kept.