KARACHI:
Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist imprisoned in a US prison, is expected to be released in the coming days, according to Prof. Dr. Muhammad Iqbal Zaidi, a member of the delegation that recently visited the United States to press for her release.
In an interview with The Express PAkGazette, Dr Zaidi, a psychiatrist, said Dr Aafia is suffering from serious health complications. However, he expected outgoing US President Joe Biden to commute his sentence before leaving office on January 20.
However, he added that if Biden does not act, the Pakistani government will contact incoming President Donald Trump to address the matter.
Dr Zaidi revealed that a three-member state delegation had traveled to the United States to advocate for the release of Dr Aafia.
Although they were aiming to meet with President Biden, a visa delay prevented the meeting. Instead, the delegation held talks with several U.S. senators and State Department officials to press for his release.
Additionally, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had written to President Biden, urging him to grant Dr. Aafia’s release on humanitarian grounds.
Dr Aafia has served 16 years in prison for attempted murder, a crime for which the maximum sentence under US law is 10 years. However, he was given an unprecedented sentence of 86 years. Dr Zaidi noted that Dr Aafia has been separated from her children for 20 years.
“Although she is not well known in the United States, almost 99% of Pakistanis and many throughout the Muslim world are familiar with her case,” Dr. Zaidi said.
He added that his release would improve the United States’ image among Pakistan’s 250 million citizens and the world’s Muslim population of 2 billion.
Dr. Zaidi, who personally examined Dr. Aafia at her isolation facility in Dallas, said she is in a state of severe mental distress and suffers from various medical conditions.
She hoped her health would improve if she was repatriated to Pakistan and provided with a supportive environment.
Dr Aafia was intercepted in Karachi in March 2003 while traveling with her three children. She was missing for five years and then, in 2008, it was revealed that she had been imprisoned in Afghanistan. She was later transferred to the United States.
Two of his children, Ahmed and Maryam, were released in 2008 and 2010, respectively, but the whereabouts of his son, Sulaiman, are unknown.
