ISLAMABAD: Dr Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist currently serving an 86-year sentence in the United States, has access to a telephone and has complete freedom to communicate with her family members, Foreign Office said in a report submitted to Islamabad High Court (IHC).

The Foreign Office has submitted a report to the IHC on the status of Dr Siddiqui’s health, according to which, Dr Siddiqui shares information about her health with the people nominated by her including her sister Dr Fauzia, brother Mohammad Ali and her lawyer Marwa Albiali and the list of people does not include the Pakistani Consul General.

Dr Siddiqui is serving an 86-year sentence at the Federal Medical Centre, Carswell in Fort Worth, Texas, the United States for “attempted murder” and other felonies.

The report stated that the Pakistani consul general in Texas was last given access to Dr Siddiqui on January 28, 2022, adding that she was healthy on the day. It stated that the Pakistani consul general regularly informs Siddiqui’s family about her health and information about her health is obtained based on the access of the consular access.

The report added that the Pakistani Consulate has once again requested consular access to Dr Siddiqui, adding that the consular general meets Siddiqui every three months. It added that the officials of the Pakistani Consulate General are in full touch with the Federal Medical Centre to ensure Siddiqui’s safety.

According to the report, Dr Siddiqui has been imprisoned in the US State of Texas since 2008 and the Pakistani government has made continuous efforts to secure her release and the issue is being raised regularly with US authorities at all levels both in Washington and Islamabad.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022