ISLAMABAD – Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar admitted on Tuesday that the efforts made by the government to persuade the US government for Dr Aafia Siddiqui’s pardon have not yet succeeded.
He stated this while addressing an international conference. He said Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif had also written a letter to US President Joe Biden, requesting her pardon on humanitarian grounds.
He revealed that a three-member committee has now been formed to meet with US parliamentarians to lobby for her pardon, release, and repatriation to Pakistan.
Earlier this month, the premier wrote to US president seeking clemency for Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, who has been languishing in American detention for years.
It was revealed when Islamabad High Court’s Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan was hearing a petition filed by Fauzia Siddiqui seeking Dr. Aafia’s release from an American prison and her repatriation. Additional Attorney General Manzoor Iqbal appeared in court.
Earlier this year, Dr Aafia’s attorney Clive Stafford Smith revealed that her client continued to suffer sexual assault at Fort Worth, Texas jail.
American council representing Pakistani national – who is serving an 86-year sentence – had reported that Siddiqui continued to face ongoing sexual harassment, including a recent incident two weeks ago where a security guard allegedly raped her as punishment.
After meeting with Dr Aafia, Stafford Smith said sexual abuse had not stopped so far and that she was being consistently subjected to physical harassment.
