The Islamabad High Court held a hearing in connection with the release and repatriation of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, who is imprisoned in the United States. The court noted that next week is crucial and issued significant instructions to the Ministry of External Affairs in this regard.
During the proceedings, the court stated that next week would be important in connection with the Aafia Siddiqui case and ordered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to cooperate with Dr. Fowzia Siddiqui.
During the hearing before Justice Sardar Ijaz Ishaq Khan, Dr. Fowzia Siddiqui’s lawyer, Imran Shafiq, that no response had been received to the letter sent by the Prime Minister to the US President. Furthermore, there was no confirmation from the United States about the receipt of the letter.
The court also noted that the record of the Prime Minister’s foreign visits had not been produced, despite the court on December 20 ordering that details of the Prime Minister’s foreign trips be produced.
A representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed the court that the Secretary of State was in China, which delayed the filing of the details. The court granted an extension until next week to submit the Prime Minister’s foreign travel record.
Imran Shafiq also informed the court that Dr. Fowzia Siddiqui has arrived in the US, but she has yet to meet the Pakistani ambassador there. The court ordered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ensure that Dr. Fowzia Siddiqui meets the Pakistani ambassador to the US
The court then adjourned the hearing of the Aafia Siddiqui case to January 24.
Earlier, the IHC ordered the government to provide details of the foreign visits of the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State since the filing of Dr. Afia Siddiqui’s pardon application in the US.
The court reviewed a statement presented by Dr. Afia Siddiqui’s American lawyer, Mr. Clive Smith, and praised his efforts.
The IHC ordered the State Department to submit a detailed report on Mr. Smith’s statement and deal with the matter diplomatically.
A few months ago, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar announced that there had been no success yet in terms of the release of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui. He explained that the government has tried to persuade US leaders to pardon her, but has not yet been successful.
