The lawyer representing the Pakistani neurologist, Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, in the United States, Clive Stafford Smith, decided to visit Pakistan to attend an audience on his release and repatriation.
Imran Shafic, local lawyer for Aafia Siddiqui, informed the High Court of Islamabad (IHC) of Smith’s decision at a hearing on Monday.
Smith is expected to arrive in Pakistan on May 4, as Shafic confirmed. In light of this development, Shafic asked that the IHC has adjourned the current audience and set the next date of May 6 to allow a consultation with Smith.
Judge Sardar Ijaz Ishaq Khan, who chaired the hearing, asked government representatives if they had objections on the proposed date.
The law manager confirmed that there was no objection, and the court then provided for the next hearing for May 6.
The IHC also noted the absence of an additional attorney general newly appointed Umar Aslam during the procedure. The case has now been adjourned until May 6 for more deliberations.
Earlier, during the previous hearing, the federal government rejected the proposal to exchange the release of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui for the transfer of Dr. Shakil Afrida, a Pakistani doctor found guilty of helping the CIA to locate Osama bin Laden.
Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, born in 1972 in Karachi, Pakistan, was an accomplished neuroscientist who 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 September 11 brain of Al-Qaeda. Siddiqui, married to the nephew of KSM, disappeared with his children in Karachi, later winning the title “Lady al-Qaeda” due to alleged ties with Al-Qaeda.
In 2008, she was arrested in Afghanistan, carried sodium cyanide and attack plans against American targets. During the interrogation, Siddiqui would have fought on the rifle of an American soldier and would have tried to shoot American agents, shouting “Death to America”. She was injured in the process and then showed signs of serious ill -treatment.
Siddiqui’s son was released in Afghanistan, while his other two children are unknown. In 2010, she was found guilty of attempted murder in the United States and sentenced to 86, although she had never been accused of direct links with terrorism.
