As the U.S. Congress debated giving Pakistan aid worth 500 million dollars, lawmakers have demanded the release of Dr Shakil Afridi, the man who helped America find Osama bin Laden.
While remarking that America's biggest friends were those who considered America's enemy, their enemy, Dana Rohrabacher, a lawmaker from California, pointed out that the man who helped the U.S. hunt down the Al Qaeda chief was languishing in jail, reported the Dawn.
In response to the Congressman, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said that the issue had been raised before former president Asif Ali Zardari and current Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that keeping Afridi in jail was an "injustice" and against the principles of the U.S. which the country upholds. He said that the matter could be resolved through "repeated talks and diplomacy."
The 51-year old physician has been sentenced to 23 years in prison for allegedly having links with terrorist groups.
About three million dollars were withheld in the previous budget in order to persuade Pakistan to free Afridi.