SHC directs federal govt to provide legal aid to Dr Aafia
KARACHI:The Sindh High Court (SHC) has directed the federal government to provide legal assistance to Dr Aafia Siddiqui, who is now facing trial in the US, and submit a report about the efforts being made by the government for her repatriation and the recovery of her two missing children within 45 days.
SHC’s division bench, headed by Justice Mohammad Athar Saeed, was hearing arguments in three identical petitions filed by Human Rights Network, Human Rights and Civil Liberties Society of Pakistan and Amity International regarding the repatriation of Dr Siddiqui from the US, the whereabouts of her two missing children, and legal action against US officials for inhumanly treating her in prison.
The petitioners submitted that Dr Siddiqui, a resident of Karachi, along with her three children was allegedly kidnapped by the law-enforcement agencies (LEAs) from Gulshan-e-Iqbal Karachi in March 2003 when she was leaving for Rawalpindi from her mother’s house.
They said that Dr Siddiqui’s son, Mohammad Ahmed Khan, was released by US authorities while the whereabouts of her other two children, Mohammad Suleman and Marium, were still unknown. The petitioners argued that the kidnapping case was also brought to the knowledge of IG Sindh and the federal government.
The federal government informed the court that the ambassador in Washington is engaged with senior US administration officials for finding a way out for the repatriation of Dr Siddiqui, as her repatriation has to be considered within US law since her case is subjudice. The court was informed that US authorities have maintained that they have no knowledge about the whereabouts of Dr Siddiqui’s two missing children, and Afghan authorities had also conveyed to the Pakistan Mission in Kabul that they had no knowledge of the whereabouts of the two children.
The government submitted that the ministry is not aware of the circumstances of her reported disappearance, adding that the ministry of interior may make efforts through relevant agencies and the detainee’s family to find the whereabouts of the children in Pakistan.
Deputy Attorney General Nazar Akbar said that the US State Department informed that they did not know the whereabouts of the detainee prior to July 17 last year. He added that US foreign authorities had also informed them that consular access was provided to her, and officials of the Pakistani Embassy in Washington and her brother had met her. He said that the request of her repatriation can only be processed through the US law as she was facing criminal charges.
After hearing the case, the SHC’s division bench directed the government to provide legal assistance to Dr Siddiqui in the US and engage the lawyers through the Pak Embassy for defending her case. The court ordered that financial assistance should also be provided to Dr Siddiqui’s family if they wanted to fight a legal battle in the US. The court also directed the government to submit a report regarding the government efforts for repatriation of Dr Siddiqui and recovery of her two missing children within 45 days. The court also directed the government to approach US authorities to take up the matter of inhumane treatment meted out to Dr Aafia.
SOURCE: www.thenews.com.pk
