ISLAMABAD: While hearing a petition seeking directions for the federal government to put in efforts for the release of Dr Aafia Siddiqui, Justice Noorul Haq Qureshi of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) here Thursday remarked that a person coming from America took Raymond Davis along, what the Pakistan government had done for the release of Aafia Siddiqui.
"Do we consider ourselves to be a slave of the USA?" IHC judge asked. Dr Fouzia Siddiqui, sister to Dr Aafia Siddiqui, filed a petition last year in October primarily seeking directions for the government to increase its efforts for the release of her sister, secondly for arranging meetings with the family and thirdly for Ministry of Foreign Affairs to keep updating family of the detained lady in USA about her physical and mental health.
During today’s hearing, legal counsel for Dr Fouzia Siddiqui told the court that the family of Dr Aafia had not heard anything about her since the last two years. She had been given physical and mental torture in the jail. At this IHC judge, while addressing to a deputy attorney general (DAG) said that a person coming from America took Raymond Davis along, what the Pak government had done for the release of Aafia Siddiqui.
Do we consider ourselves to be a slave of the USA? DAG Raja Khalid Mehmood Khan then responded that the government provided every possible assistance to Dr Siddiqui. She had been provided with a team of three lawyers.
"Dr Siddiqui had been sentenced by an American court, and we cannot dictate them. Pakistan’s foreign mission in USA remained in-touch with Dr Siddiqui and kept asking her relative if they wanted to meet her. But her real brother did not meet her, despite the fact that he was in USA. If some other relatives want to meet her, they can go and meet her in the USA," DAG said. DAG further said that Raymond Davis was freed after legal heirs of the murdered had forgiven him.
During hearing of the case, counsel for Dr Fouzia, Advocate Qureshi, said that the way the government was behaving regarding the release of Aafia Siddiqui was shameful. The court then adjourned the case in this matter saying that it would issue an interim order in this matter.
Legal counsel for Dr Fouzia, while talking to The News told that some two years back there had been a fake call received by the family with other side of the phone claiming to be Aafia Siddiqui, but it was a fraudulent call. Dr Fouzia Siddiqui had filed this petition in October last year while reminding the incumbent Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his promise that he made on November 9, 2008, while writing a letter to former prime minister Yusaf Raza Gilani, urging him to highlight the issue of Dr Aafia Siddiqui’s detention at international forums.
In another matter, an IHC division bench adjourned till February 29 in the federal government’s intra court appeal (ICA) that it had filed against a January 15, 2014 order of an IHC single bench regarding provision of bulletproof vehicle to the former Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.