File photo of Dr Fauzia Siddiqui, sister of Aafia Siddiqui. PHOTO: EXPRESS/FILE
The Sindh High Court on Thursday directed the ministry of foreign affairs to explore ways and make efforts to strike an agreement with the US government to repatriate Dr Aafiya.
The bench, headed by Justice Maqbool Baqar issued these directives while hearing a petition filed by Dr Aafia’s sister, Dr Fauzia Siddiqui, seeking repatriation of the detained scientist.
In the hearing on Thursday, the petitioner told the judges that the US government reportedly wanted to shift Dr Aafiya but the Pakistani government was taking no interest in bringing her back.
“The Pakistan government should sign a treaty for shifting of prisoners incarcerated abroad to bring them to Pakistan for serving out their sentence,” Fauzia stressed.
She pleaded the court to direct the government to sign the Council of Europe Convention and the Organisation of American States Convention on criminal sentence abroad and request the US government to repatriate Dr Aafia.
The petitioner’s counsel, Anwar Mansoor Khan, placed before the court Transfer of Offenders Ordinance 2002, pleading the high court to explore the possibility of an agreement as contemplated by the Ordinance. The deputy attorney general also gave his consent.
The bench directed the federal government to make efforts to reach an agreement as envisaged in the Ordinance.
Missing Persons
The Sindh High Court in another hearing directed the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa home department and Fata administration to release all persons who were picked up by law enforcers from Sindh, and are currently facing trial at internment centres in KP.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Mushir Alam issued the direction while hearing petitions seeking the recovery or whereabouts of various missing persons.
The bench also directed the KP Advocate General Khalid Khan and Fata administration to provide details of all such persons in the next hearing.
At least 60 petitions claimed that individuals were whisked away by law enforcers and their whereabouts were still unknown.
The K-P AG informed that some of the missing persons were detained at army internment centres in K-P and Fata under the Actions (In Aid of Civil Powers) Regulations 2011.
The bench directed Sindh’s Additional Chief Secretary for Home Affairs, Muhammad Waseem, to ask K-P secretary home and tribal areas to release all such missing persons.
Secretaries summoned
The bench directed secretaries for interior and defence ministries to personally appear before the court to answer why they had not taken prompt action on the court’s directions in the missing persons cases.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 17th, 2013.
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You must know by now that, for whatever reasons, the US will NEVER agree to repatriate her. You could at least send her regular consulate visits, or get some international oversight like the red cross to visit, or get family visits for her. You are asking for what you CAN'T GET instead of doing what you CAN DO, so instead you do NOTHING. It shows how little your gov cares. perhaps they want her kept in total isolation for their complicity?