No proposal to swap Afridi for Aafia: ISI

Islamabad: Pakistan Government will not swap a doctor arrested for running a vaccination campaign to trace Osama bin Laden for Aafia Siddiqui, convicted in the US for links to terrorism, ISI chief Lt Gen Zahir-ul-Islam has said.

There is no proposal under consideration to hand over the doctor, Shakeel Afridi, to the US since he is facing judicial proceedings and a three-stage appeal process is yet to be disposed of, Islam was quoted as saying in media reports.

The Inter Services Intelligence chief spoke to reporters on the margins of a military function late last night.

Afridi was arrested shortly after the killing of bin Laden on May 2 last year for running a vaccination campaign in Abbottabad to try and collect DNA samples of bin Laden or his kin.

He was recently given a 33-year prison term by a tribal court for alleged links with militants.

Afridi has appealed against the sentence.

US Embassy spokesperson Rian Harris too said the US was not considering a prisoner exchange involving Siddiqui and Afridi.