Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday assured the family of Dr Aafia Siddiqui that the government remains fully committed to providing 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 issued by the Prime Minister’s Office on Friday.
The statement emphasised that the government is in no way negligent regarding the matter. It further highlighted that, under the prime minister’s instructions, diplomatic and legal assistance has already been extended.
In addition, the premier had written to then US president Joe Biden to seek intervention in the case. A committee headed by Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar was also formed to ensure further progress.
“The committee will remain in close contact with Dr Fouzia and will work to provide the necessary assistance,” the statement added.
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Dr Aafia, a Pakistani neuroscientist currently incarcerated in the United States, was sentenced to 86 years in prison on charges of attempted murder — a sentence significantly exceeding the US legal maximum of 10 years for the crime.
She has served 16 years behind bars and has been separated from her children for more than two decades.
Dr Aafia was reportedly intercepted in Karachi in March 2003 while travelling with her three children and subsequently disappeared 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 whereabouts of her son Sulaiman remain unknown.
