Doctor Aafia Siddiqui’s lawyer Tina Foster said on July 27
that they have
written to the
Embassy of Pakistan
to repatriate
Doctor Siddiqui
in exchange for
Doctor Shakeel
Afridi, reports
The Express
Tribune. Doctor
Siddiqui was sentenced
to 86 years in
prison on charges
of firing on a
US soldier in
Bagram base in
Afghanistan. US
authorities accuse
Dr Siddiqui of
helping al Qaeda,
notably Majid
Khan, a Guantanamo
detainee who recently
pleaded guilty
to all charges
against him. Doctor
Shakeel Afridi
was arrested after
it came to light
that he helped
the Central Intelligence
Agency (CIA) in
trying to ascertain
al Qaeda leader
Osama bin Laden’s
identity in the
Abbotabad compound
through a fake
polio vaccination
campaign. He was
convicted of helping
a militant group
and sentenced
to 33 years in
jail.
Tina Foster, Dr Siddiqui’s lawyer, said that they had sent
a letter to the
Ambassador Sherry
Rehman, asking
Pakistan to take
action to repatriate
Doctor Siddiqui.
However, said
Foster, the Embassy
of Pakistan has
not sent her any
“substantive response”
on the letter
despite having
acknowledged receiving
it. In response
to Foster, Nadeem
Hotiana, a spokesperson
for the Embassy
of Pakistan said
that Pakistani
authorities have
been pressing
United States
(US) authorities
to repatriate
Doctor Siddiqui
ever since she
was in US custody.
The Pakistani
Embassy official
told The Express
Tribune, “Miss
Foster did raise
the matter of
a possible exchange
of Shakeel Afridi
with Doctor Aafia.
The matter was
referred to the
concerned authorities
in Pakistan. It
is not the place
of the embassy
to unilaterally
create a response
without Islamabad’s
approval.” |
