The lawyer who represents the Pakistani neurologist, Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, in the United States, Clive Stafford Smith, decided to visit Pakistan to attend a case audience about her release and repatriation.
Imran Shafique, local lawyer of Aafia Siddiqui, informed the Superior Court of Islamabad (IHC) of Smith’s decision during a hearing on Monday.
Smith is scheduled to get to Pakistan on May 4, as confirmed by Shafique. In the light of this development, Shafique requested that the IHC postpone the current audience and establish the next date for May 6 to allow a consultation with Smith.
Judge Sardar Ijaz Ishaq Khan, who presided over the hearing, asked the government representatives if they had any objection to the proposed date.
The law officer confirmed that there were no objections, and the court subsequently scheduled the next hearing for May 6.
The IHC also pointed out the absence of newly appointed Additional Attorney Umar Aslam during the procedures. The case has now been postponed until May 6 for greater deliberation.
Previously, during the previous hearing, the Federal Government rejected the proposal to exchange the release of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui for the delivery of Dr. Shakil Afridi, a Pakistani doctor convicted of helping the CIA to locate Osama Bin Laden.
Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, born in 1972 in Karachi, Pakistan, was a consummated neuroscientific that obtained a doctorate from the University of Brandeis in 2001.
The case of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui began in 2003 after the capture of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM), the master mind of September 11, Al-Qaeda. Siddiqui, according to the reports, married to Ksm’s nephew, disappeared with his children in Karachi, and then won the title “Lady Al-Qaeda” due to the alleged links with Al-Qaeda.
In 2008, he was arrested in Afghanistan, supposedly carrying sodium cyanide and plans for attacks against US objectives. During the interrogation, Siddiqui supposedly fought against an American soldier rifle and tried to shoot the US agents, shouting “death to America.” It was injured in the process and then showed signs of severe abuse.
Siddiqui’s son was released in Afghanistan, while the whereabouts of two other children is still unknown. In 2010, she was convicted of murder attempt in the United States and sentenced 86 years, although she was never accused of direct ties with terrorism.
