Senator Mushtaq asks COAS to plead Aafia case in US

ISLAMABAD: Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan has called upon Chief of Army Staff General Syed Asim Munir to raise the issue of the release of Dr Aafia Siddiqui during his ongoing US visit.

“I hope that the Army Chief will not only raise the issue of release of Aafia Siddiqui but should also bring her back to the country,” Senator Mushtaq said while talking to newsmen after hearing Aafia Siddiqui case at Islamabad High Court.

The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Senator said that he also talked to caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar when he was leaving for the US and asked him to talk to the US officials regarding the release of detained Aafia Siddiqui, but he did not come up to expectations.

He regretted that past governments before every general election made promises for the release of Dr Aafia in 100 days but forgot after assuming power.

Senator Mushtaq said that a US lawyer fighting the case of Aafia Siddiqui had disclosed that she was assaulted sexually while Pakistan’s Foreign Office also admitted that it was in their knowledge till 2018.

He said there was still ambiguity about the February 8 general elections but the Pakistanis demanded that polls should be held on time. He said that there was no level-playing field available for all parties accusing that courts were also acting as facilitators.