Islamabad: The Pakistani commission probing the US military raid that killed Osama bin Laden and his presence in the garrison city of Abbottabad on Tuesday slapped travel restrictions on all people related to the incident, officials said.
The ban came just few days after reports said that the US has sought the release of a doctor who allegedly worked for the CIA to track down the al-Qaeda chief in Abbottabad.
Dr Shakeel Afridi, who is currently in the custody of security agencies, ran a fake polio vaccination drive on behalf of the CIA in a bid to obtain DNA samples of bin Laden's family in Abbottabad, months before the world's most wanted terrorist was killed by US Special Forces on May 2.
"Abbottabad Commission has imposed a ban on travelling abroad for all persons related to Abbottabad incident including Dr Shakeel Afridi till further orders," a spokesman for the Commission said.
"No such person should be allowed to leave the country without clearance from the Abbottabad Commission," he said in a statement.
Official sources have confirmed that US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton telephoned President Asif Ali Zardari on July 28 to seek his help in securing Afridi's release, 'The Express Tribune' daily had reported on Sunday.
However, Zardari reportedly turned down the request, arguing that the matter was before the judicial commission, which has been investigating the circumstances surrounding the death and presence of bin Laden in Abbottabad, sources said.
"The matter is sub judice and it is only the Abbottabad Commission which will decide his (Afridi) fate," said an official quoting Zardari as having told Clinton.
The official said that the detained doctor may be summoned by the Abbottabad commission for questioning.
The high-powered commission, which is headed by retired senior Supreme Court judge Justice Javed Iqbal, had already barred the government from extraditing bin Laden's widows and other persons who are connected with this incident.
Afridi was one of several Pakistanis who were detained by the country's security agencies over allegations of working for the CIA.
Afridi is yet to be charged formally, but if he is, he could face the death penalty for collaborating with a foreign spy agency.
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