ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office has dismissed speculations that Pakistan is negotiating the release of Dr Shakil Afridi who was sentenced to 33 years in jail on charges of involvement in anti-state activities.

“There is no deal under way between Pakistan and anyone else with regard to Dr Shakil Afridi,” clarified Foreign Office spokesman Dr Mohammad in his weekly media briefing. The issue of Dr Afridi is being handled by the Interior Ministry, he said.

Afridi is accused of running a fake anti-polio vaccination campaign which helped the United States track down Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Days later, he was killed in a US military raid on Abbottabad compound in May 2011.

The then CIA director Leon Panetta and US secretary of state Hillary Clinton had also confirmed the doctor's role in eliminating Laden.

Afridi was arrested and put on trial. He was sentenced to 33 years for involvement in anti-state activities by a tribal court in 2012. 

He was recently reportedly shifted from Peshawar to Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi due to security concerns. The move led to media speculations that Dr Afridi could be released as a result of the deal.