The president and the prime minister of Pakistan should request for her release on a priority basis
NOWSHERA: A renowned Pakistani-born neuroscientist, Dr Afia Siddiqui, is currently serving an 86-year life imprisonment in the medical centre prison of Texas, USA. A graduate from the prestigious MIT is subjected to extreme violence, torture and is being held with male inmates, making her vulnerable to sexual harassment that is leading to her mental and physical instability. Dr Afia was dubbed the ‘lady of al Qaeda’ or ‘the Grey lady of al Qaeda’ by the American spy agency the CIA.
Her disappearances during the years 2003-2008, her work as an activist (affiliation with banned outfits’ charity wings) and later on her marriage to the nephew of the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks raised doubts over her conduct. However, her disappearances during this time are believed to be the result of her arrest by the CIA, who had subjected her to torture because she wore a face covering veil everywhere.
Later on in 2008 she was arrested by the Afghan security forces in the city of Ghazni in Afghanistan on suspicion of being a suicide bomber. And during the investigations she was also shot at by a CIA officer and was then put on trial on the charges of killing US soldiers. However, she refused to plead guilty to these charges as she had no trust in the country’s justice system.
Moreover, though the US authorities has denied torturing her, the meeting of Pakistani embassy officials with her in the prison had raised suspicion over her well-being as she was unable to speak a single word during the meeting.
The forgotten lady hero of the country, who was also referred to as the ‘daughter of Pakistan’ by former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, had also requested for her release, still languishes in the US prison under extreme agony and suffering for unknown indictments by the US.
The president and the prime minister of Pakistan should request for her release on a priority basis.
Muhammad Tahir Sohail
Published in The Express Tribune, March 22nd, 2018.
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