Dr Aafia Siddiqui – The Prisoner 650

NEW YORK: Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani national indicted in the US on terrorism charges, last August is unable to account for five years of her life and this may have an adverse affect on Islamabad’s efforts to get her released, according to experts here.

Ms Siddiqui, a neuroscientist and an alumna of MIT and Barandeis universities, is scheduled to appear before a US court in New York on Friday.

Last November defense lawyers claimed that Siddiqui who was undergoing court ordered Psychiatric tests was unfit to stand trial.

The psychiatric examination was conducted at a medical centre in Fort Worth Texas.

But on March 26 this year, US prosecutors submitted documents to the trial court stating that two independent government psychiatrists had determined that Siddiqui was ‘malingering’ or faking her symptoms of mental illness. The judge, Richard M. Berman, scheduled a hearing for June one to determine Siddiqui’s competency and set a tentative trial date for July 6.

According to another report the US Federal Bureau of Investigation has been approached by Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency for access to Dr Aafia Siddiqui to investigate her alleged links with any terror network.

FIA Director General Tariq Khosa called for a probe against Siddiqui’s ex-husband, Mohammad Amjad Khan ‘to get vital information,’ a report in this newspaper said.

A source claimed that FIA staff had also sought an interview with one of the Pakistani senators, who recently met Dr Siddiqui in the United States.

An Islamic charity organization reported recently it has collected some $70,000 for the defense fund of Ms. Siddiqu

Pakistan’s US Ambassador Husain Haqqani met with Ms Siddiqui two weeks ago, according to a report.

SOURCE: Dawn.com