Dr Aafia’s case: IHC asks foreign ministry to take up issue with US ambassador

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has asked the foreign ministry to take up the Dr Aafia Siddiqui release case with the United States ambassador to Pakistan.

A single bench of Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan on Wednesday heard a petition filed by Dr Aafia’s sister, Dr Fauzia Siddiqui, through her counsel Sajid Qureshi for the release and repatriation of her sister and nominated the Federation of Pakistan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Interior Ministry as respondents.

The IHC bench directed the Foreign Ministry to present Aafia’s case to the US ambassador in Pakistan to see his reaction and directed the submission of the response of the US embassy to the court.

Justice Ejaz remarked: “After 70 years, no one gives us any value on the world’s map and all we can do is sit and cry. The Foreign Office just sends letters, but there was no follow-up.”

Fauzia’s lawyer informed the bench that Dr Fauzia applied for a visa in September but it has not been approved yet. He also said that they are raising funds for the case in America, and they need funds for the new lawyer they are trying to hire.

The court expressed its displeasure with the efforts made regarding the release of Dr Aafia as the Foreign Ministry’s counsel submitted the communication record with the US regarding the repatriation of Dr Aafia.

The IHC bench expressed dissatisfaction and said that the foreign secretary should appear before the court and state that he cannot do anything in this case then the court will dismiss this case as there is no proceeding in this case since October 17.

The Foreign Ministry’s counsel informed the court that there is no satisfactory response from the US regarding the release of Dr Aafia.

The court asked to submit the report after signing it from the Foreign Ministry and foreign secretary. Later, the bench deferred the hearing of the case till December 20.

Dr Aafia, a Pakistani neuroscientist, is serving an 86-year prison sentence in the US for allegedly attacking American soldiers in Afghanistan. In 2010, a US federal court in Manhattan had sentenced Dr Aafia to 86 years imprisonment for the attempted murder of US military personnel in Afghanistan. She is serving her sentence at the Federal Medical Centre, Carswell, Fort Worth in Texas.

Dr Aafia studied at Boston’s prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and did a PhD in neuroscience at Brandeis University. In early 2003, during the Afghanistan War she came back to Pakistan. In March 2003, she was reportedly named as a courier and financier for Al-Qaeda by Khalid Sheikh Muhammad and was placed on a "wanted for questioning" list by the American FBI.

According to US court papers, she was carrying two kilos of sodium cyanide hidden in moisturizer bottles, along with plans for chemical weapons and New York's Brooklyn Bridge and Empire State Building.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022