FP raises issue of Dr Aafia at US State Dept

Jalil Afridi

Washington DC:  The Frontier Post asked about Dr Aafia Siddiqui at the press briefing of the US State Department. Dr Aafia has been convicted on terrorism charges in the U.S. and is sentenced to eighty years in prison. Last ask Dr Aafia met her sister Dr Fauzia after twenty years. Jamate Islami leader Senator Mushtaq Ahmed was also present on the occasion. 

When asked by The Frontier Post that according to many journalists in Pakistan, the issue of Dr Aafia Siddiqui was mishandled by the government of Pakistan, the State Department official, Vedant Patel replied by saying that he has nothing to offer and that the relevant authorities will be in better position to comment on this question. 

The Frontier Post again asked that US is known around the world for respecting human rights and whether it was possible to revisit the case because she is a Phd doctor and the Pakistani government didn’t pursue the case properly. The spokesperson again replied by saying that the relevant law enforcing authorities will be in better position to answer this question. 

A senior Pakistani journalist while talking to The Frontier Post said that Pakistani government is not interested in Dr Aafia Siddique and that even twenty some years ago while the trial of Dr Aafia was in progress, the government of Pakistan at that time was too afraid to stand up for its citizens and especially for those citizens who even had the slightest sympathies for terrorists organizations like Al Qaeda. 

When asked about Dr Shakil Afridi, who spied for the US government and is languishing in jail in Pakistan, Mr Patel replied by saying that US makes sure that councilor access is available to its citizens who are in jail in any part of the world. It is important to mention here that Dr Shakil Afridi is not a US citizen.