Pak reduces sentence for doctor who helped US track Osama

Peshawar, Pakistan: A defense lawyer says a Pakistani judicial official has reduced the 33-year jail sentence of a doctor accused of helping the US track down Osama bin Laden to 23 years. Shakil Afridi was convicted in May 2012 on a series of charges linked to allegations he ran a vaccination program to collect DNA and verify bin Laden’s presence in the town of Abbottabad. US commandos killed the al-Qaeda chief in 2011. Afridi through his lawyers has denied helping the CIA. [caption id=“attachment_1421455” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo of Osama bin Laden.[/caption] His lawyer, Qamar Nadeem, said judicial official Munir Azam dropped the charge of waging war against Pakistan. Azam’s ruling in the northwestern city of Peshawar Saturday came in response to an application by Afridi’s lawyer for a new trial. Azam rejected the request. Afridi may still appeal further. Associated Press