Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday assured the family of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui that the government remains fully obliged to provide all possible legal and diplomatic support in her case.
The Prime Minister conveyed this during a meeting with Dr. Fouzia Siddiqui, sister of Dr. Aafia, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s office Friday.
The statement emphasized that the government is in no way negligent in terms of the matter. It also emphasized that under the prime minister’s instructions have already been expanded diplomatic and legal assistance.
In addition, the Prime Minister had written to the time of US President Joe Bid to seek intervention in the case. A committee led by Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar was also set up to ensure further progress.
“The committee will remain in close contact with Dr. Fouzia and will work to provide the necessary help,” the statement added.
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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.
