Rep. Dana Rohrabacher is urging the United States to intervene more forcefully in the case of the doctor who was jailed in Pakistan for helping track down Osama bin Laden, saying no one in the administration or Congress seems to care what happens to him.
“It doesn’t appear that other people are taking this case seriously,” The California Republican told
FoxNews.com, referring to the imprisonment of Pakistani doctor Shakil Afridi. “I don’t see any movement.”
Rohrabacher said he’s been working “frantically” to find some way of helping Afridi since he learned last month the doctor had been sentenced to 33 years in prison.
But he said nobody seems to be listening to his appeals.
“If we let that person just hang on a limb and forget him, now that he’s put himself in danger for us, well, shame on us,” " Rohrabacher said. “I am very concerned that the United States will shame itself by letting Dr. Afridi sit there and suffer in a dungeon, and be tortured.”
He said how the U.S. deals with the case could affect the willingness of potential informants to help in future intelligence and military operations.
The State Deparment has labeled the case of Alfridi a prioritiy in its dealings with Pakistan and has urged the government to reconsider its treatment of the doctor. But Rohrabacher said diplomatic efforts aren’t tough enough.
“Instead of walking on eggs, we should be stepping on their toes,” he said.
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