Dr Aafia case: IHC seeks govt’s reply on declarations, open letter

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) asked the government on Tuesday to file a written reply on two declarations and an open letter that were filed before the court in Dr Aafia Siddiqui case.

A single bench of Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan heard the constitutional petition of Dr Fowzia Siddiqui. Imran Shafique, advocate for the petitioner, appeared before the court in person with petitioner via video link. Clive A. Stafford Smith appeared through video link. Zainab Janjua, amicus; Barrister Munawar Iqbal Duggal, Additional Attorney General (AAG); Abdul Khaliq Thind, Deputy Attorney General, Yasir Arfat Abbasi, AAG; and Muhammad Hamza, Assistant Director-US, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), also appeared before the court. The court in its order said Smith has filed the latest declaration dated January 30. “The CM also attaches a declaration of Dr. Fowzia Siddiqui and an open letter to the Pakistan government titled ‘Bring Dr. Aafia Siddiqui home’,” it added. “You have forsaken your daughter, it is time to correct betrayal,” stated the open letter by Dr Omar Suleiman, a highly respected Imam in Dallas Fort Worth, which was to be replied by the government. The judge wrote: “I can’t but resist reproducing the following passage in Dr Omar Suleiman’s open letter, which reads as follows:

“Former US attorney general Ramsey Clark has described the case of Dr Aafia Siddiqui as the worst case of individual injustice he had ever seen. And after everything she has endured kidnapping, imprisonment, torture, Aafia has been described as the most wronged woman on the planet.”

The court order read: “It is also quite obvious from Mr. Smith’s declaration that Mr. Hamza who though has been very proactive in his support for the case is not high-up enough in the chain of command in MoFA. In the previous orders this Court had passed the directions for senior officers of MoFA to participate in the proceedings but they have dropped away. From now onwards the Additional Secretary (Americas) will participate in each and every hearing. If he seeks exemption from personal appearance on any particular date he would have to file an application in advance.

“Learned AAG is directed to file a written reply to the two declarations and the open letter referred above two working days before the next date of hearing.” Later, the hearing was adjourned until February 21.