DPM DAR says that DR Aafia -Reference was ‘taken out of context’

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar has stated that his recent remarks about Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, conducted during a question-and-response session at Atlantic Council-Thinking Tank in Washington, was “taken out of context”.

Dar, who is currently on an official visit to the United States, approached the United Nations General Assembly in New York before traveling to Washington, where he spoke at a session hosted by Atlantic Council Think Tank.

During the event, Dar was asked about the imprisonment of former Prime Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-E-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan. In response, he drew a comparison with Dr. Aafia’s case and said the case was under the legal process and beyond the interference of every individual, including himself.

Read more: PM Shehbaz continues to confirm support for Dr. Aafia’s family

“What happened on May 9 … Unfortunately, a man like me can’t even do anything. The proper law process has to take place – and it’s going on. So I think we shouldn’t politicize anything at this time,” Dar said.

He added, “For example, if I say that Aafia Siddiqui is here for decades and becomes – God knows – until when … I think it would be unfair. A proper law process has resulted in this action. The same applies to everyone. There is no exception.”

He continued to say that being a popular political leader does not give the right to take weapons, provoke unrest or attack state institutions. “This is nothing but betrayal,” he said. “The proper legislative process will take its own course. It is the judiciary that handles the case … and as every democratic country we hardly have any right to interfere in the justice system.”

Following his comments, the statement withdrew widespread criticism on social media, prompting the Deputy Prime Minister to issue a clarification.

In a post on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Senator Dar declared his reference to Dr. Aafia’s case was misunderstood and wrongly represented in connection with the issue of Imran Khan’s legal situation.

The Foreign Minister confirmed that successive PML-N governments had consistently provided full diplomatic and legal support for efforts aimed at securing Dr. Aafia’s release and would continue to do so until the case is resolved.

“Each country has its own legal and legal systems to be respected – whether it is Pakistan or the United States,” he said.

He further emphasized that the government’s attitude towards Dr. Aafia’s case remains “firm and unambiguous”.

Meanwhile, dr. Aafia’s lawyer, Clive Stafford Smith, also the vice -prime minister’s remarks and accused him of undermining the matter.

In a post on X, Smith wrote: “Sorry, but this is idiotic! ‘Due Process’ does not match anything where Aafia had no witnesses they lied and it was all false. It is called a spontane abort – not what is” dilapidated. “

He added: “DPM seemed to go out of his way of undermining Aafia’s case yesterday by acting as if she was given a” proper process “when all she got was torture and a trial in New York when all the real witnesses were in Afghanistan. I hope he has been reminded whose side he is on today.”

Dr. Aafia, a Pakistani neuroscientist currently jailed in the United States, was sentenced to 86 years in prison on charges of murder trial – a sentence that significantly exceeds the US legal maximum of 10 years for the crime.

She has earned 16 years behind pillars and has been separated from her children for more than two decades.

Dr. Aafia was allegedly captured in Karachi in March 2003 while traveling with her three children and then disappearing for five years. It was later revealed in 2008 that she had been imprisoned in Afghanistan before being transferred to the United States.

While two of her children, Ahmed and Maryam, were released in 2008 and 2010 respectively, the residence of her son Sulaiman remains unknown.