Afridi from Khyber Agency was picked by Pakistan’s intelligence agencies moments after the disclosure was made by a British newspaper.

Afridi was assigned to collect DNA samples of Bin Laden’s family in Abbottabad months before the world’s most wanted man was killed by US special forces on May 2.

The vaccination program was launched by the CIA in order to confirm whether or not Bin Laden was hiding in the compound.

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.

However, Zardari reportedly turned down the request, arguing that the matter was before the judicial commission investigating the circumstances surrounding the death and presence of Bin Laden in Abbottabad, sources said.

The high-powered commission, headed by a retired senior Supreme Court judge, Justice Javed Iqbal, has already barred the government from extraditing Bin Laden’s widows and others connected to the case.

Afridi was one of several Pakistanis detained over allegations of working for the CIA.

Afridi has yet to be charged formally, but if he is, he could face the death penalty for collaborating with a foreign spy agency.