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The Pakistani doctor who was sentenced to 33 years of imprisonment after being found 'guilty' of helping the CIA track down Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, is a vulnerable target in a prison filled with hardcore militants, security agencies have said. Dr Shakil Afridi is a hot potato no one wants to hold, said a senior government official, adding that the province's repeated requests to the centre for his transfer to a safer location have so fallen on deaf ears, reports The Dawn. The official said Dr Afridi, a resident of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and charged under the federal laws, was a high-profile prisoner and therefore, the federal government should take charge of him. The interior ministry in Islamabad has turned a blind eye to intelligence agency warnings about possible threats to Dr Afridi, while Punjab has refused to take him in, according to the official. Dr Afridi was sent to Peshawar Central Jail on May 25, 2012 after his conviction since it was the closest jail to Khyber Agency whose political administration held his trial. "This convict does not belong to this province. He is from the federal area and convicted under a federal law i.e. FCR. Only in this one case, we have requested the federal government to assume responsibility for this prisoner, but neither the federal government nor any other federating unit has shown willingness to share our burden," said an official. Intelligence sources have warned the government of attacks on Dr Afridi from militants associated with banned organizations. Another warning said some miscreant groups in tribal areas have been offered huge amount of money to get Dr Afridi released from prison. Prison officials said there are around 160 Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan militants, 40 of Tehrik-i-Nifaz-i-Shariat-i-Mohammadi, 15 of Sipah-i-Sahaba and others of Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, who pose serious threat to Dr Afridi's life inside their jail. "I cannot ensure his security inside the prison due to the presence of a large number of militants there. His food could be poisoned. His life is in danger here," said Khalid Abbas, acting inspector general of prison and an experienced officer.

Pak 'Osama doc' a hot potato no one wants to hold