Opinion

Untouchable Aafia

Is there any tangible evidence against Aafia except for the whodunit version where nothing was even done?

Farzana Versey September 27, 2010

Untouchable Aafia

Why are the Pakistani peroxide blondes not coming out in support of Aafia Siddiqui when she is closer to their league? It is surprising to see the Jamaat-i-Islami leading protests and asking for the repatriation of a neuro-scientist as a “daughter of the nation”. It is even more surprising that the Pakistani media is trying to be balanced in this case when they have not shown such circumspection in instances where they have been provided dossiers or infiltrators have been proved culpable on several charges.

Since when has civil society bothered itself much over where Aafia was in the intervening years when people are abducted or disappear on a regular basis? A court in the US tries her for an attempt to kill its soldiers in Afghanistan. What is the basis of such a trial and the sentence of 86 years seems completely bizarre given that no one died. This was at a police station. Did Dr Siddiqui just pick up a gun lying on the table while the cops watched? She aimed and they remained silent? If she is a dreaded terrorist, then why did they hold back?

In a letter to the US attorney general, Yvonne Ridley states: “Not only did the alleged crime happen in another country, but Ms Siddiqui was renditioned without formal extradition papers and without correct consular access according to official US records.”

If her defence lawyers had made a plea on grounds of mental illness as a last-ditch manouevre to reduce her sentence and it has not been reduced, then has her connection with al Qaeda been ascertained? Is shouting “Death to Americans” adequate to condemn her? Why are they looking for soft targets?

The threat perception is loose cannon. Is there any tangible evidence against Aafia except for the whodunit version where nothing was even done?

The reason I have asked about women protesters is because, as happens often, Aafia’s case got ‘complicated’ with the duplicitous ploy of the febrile female accusation. The witch syndrome subjugates women and denies them justice, charging them not of any crime of commission but of complicity. Almost all reports mention some ‘mystery’ surrounding her. The enigma helps bolster an attitude that prevents the need for any real dimension in dealing with what could be a crime.

Here, the crime itself is an abstraction. How dangerous is Aafia, really? Is she more dangerous than the governments that are so corrupt that even those in charge of justice are bought to alter justice? Is she more dangerous than sections of the western world that use their ‘good wishes’ to attack countries? Is she more dangerous than the UN’s big bosses who misuse veto powers? More importantly, what she has been accused of did not happen.

The feminist-activist lobbies need a ‘tribal’ agenda to hit out at. They are unwilling to stick their necks out for a ‘possibility of innocence’ because they are on a diet of spoon-fed causes. They may protest against US interference but toe its line when it comes to which cat to bell and which to let get away with the cream.

The Jamaatis who would want their women in purdah and left uneducated, barefoot, pregnant and most certainly not in the lab, are in the forefront because they are aligning the Aafia case with Islamophobia. Can they ensure that she will get justice in her home country? Isn’t it possible that Aafia is the ‘war booty’ for some crumbs America is throwing the way of Pakistan?

Published in The Express Tribune, September 28^th, 2010.

COMMENTS (33)

Farzana Versey | 14 years ago | Reply A quick note: I am surprised that I am referred to as a "bleeding heart liberal" whereas some have been quick to point out my anti-Jamaati stance. Labels are convenient but don't always fit. As far as I am concerned, this is about an individual who has not got justice. There are factual loopholes. Yes, my column did hold forth on her being a woman because that aspect is pretty evident, if you examine it both literally and psychologically. Women could belong to any ideological stripe and still have to bear the brunt. Each person in civil society should speak up against injustice, and one understands it is not possible to do so for every cause and there will splintered ideas as to which side we are on. My 'right' may not be somebody else's. Does it make the issue wrong? Incidentally, those who watch youtube clips of an innocent woman being stoned to death are co-opted into this 'playing to the gallery' business. Do not forget how Nida was made into a martyr in Iran only because she happened to be at the protest rally during the elections. After her death, there were disgusting comments about how 'hot' she was. Is this the level of 'anti-mullahism' and an argument against it? I find it voyeuristic and refuse to post such videos. This does not make me a supporter of those doing the stoning. Look at the in-betweens, or as I strive to do show both the extremes. I do not believe in pussy-footing an any subject. But I do not have any organisational agenda and no political/religious outfit backing me. And I have not been addressed as sister, although I don't see how different it is from 'buddy'! Had I written against Aafia, there would still have been a problem. What is interesting here is that both groups have a problem with what I say. I should probably examine the peroxide jamaatis some day. PS: The some day will be a while. Just to inform those who give a tosh about these things: I am taking a break (nah, not a walk, nor am I getting a life - one is enough) for a bit. Miles to sleep before....etc! Thanks for hanging in here despite everything. Much appreciate it, ~F

Ali Farooqui | 14 years ago | Reply Well there we go again, you see the same crowd and same trend on every topic there are certain characters on the Tribune comment forum who would go to any extent to spew their hatred against anything islamic or any topic related to islam how ever remotely,there is no point preaching to this mummy daddy breed of so called enlightened intellectuals. you see them coming down in hordes sweeping everyone with same brush and handing out titles of "terrorists" and "fundamentalists" there is no point to this arguments as none of their sister was abducted in broad day light tortured raped shot faced kangaroo court I feel and stand for Aafia because tomorrow it could be my sister or yours. "they came for the communist .. and I was not a communist so I did not protest, they came for the trade unionist .. and I was not trade unionist and I did not protest, they came for the jews .. and I was not a jew again I did not protest,then they came for me .. and there was no one left to protest" - pastor Muller

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Khadim Husain | 14 years ago | Reply Basic theme of article has already diminished as all political leaders including PPP, PML N, JUI F, PML Q, Jamat e Islami, Tehreek e Insaaf and MQM have declared it injustice. Moreover some peoples who were bullying on sectarian thoughts are also have no grounds because all type of Mullah's including Shia, Brelvi and Deobandi have protested openly. Christians have also condemned and took out processions in many cities.

ummi muhammed | 14 years ago | Reply asalaamu-alaikum Lady Farzana, I really dont think Dr.Aafia Siddique would be at least amused, by the way u address Jamaati Women;' BareFooted?,PREgnant???VEILED??uneducated...u should be really carefull, when commenting about muslim sisters like that...? Inorder that Islam gain victory, and the upper-hand, there should be strong UNITY..not the Disunity- u intend to create. Dr, Aafia , Alhamdulilah, quoted Hadith and verses of the Quran, during her sentencing, she portrayed so much of love for her Supporters and ENEMIES alike?? She displays HIGHEST standards of PERFECT character and more over has FULL Conviction in ALLAHswt...which will certainly take har a long way...because she is following the Sunnah of Nabi SAW.and she gave so much of good DAWAH....SO WHATS WRONG WITH THE FOLLOWERS OF THE OCCUPATION OF THE PROPHET? THE DAAEES\Jamaatis (encouraging good- forbidding evil). Even an UNEDUCATED person will realiize it's TRULY an Open torture against 1 of the 1000000`s victimized muslims = ISLAMAPHOBIA / MUSLIMPHOBIA...... .wslm...unletterd JAMATI woman

Neeraj, India | 14 years ago | Reply @Hasan, Hats off to you buddy! What a befitting reply you gave to these bleeding heart liberals like @Yvonne and @ Farzana. People like them do thrive on others' miseries. They play to the galleries and succeed in creating instantaneous 'brothers and sisters' for themselves. They won't care if Taliban stone an innocent girl to death, but, ever ready to come out in defense of the likes of ' Afia the Innocent' with a huge dossier of verbose jigsaw. As @faraz has said Mush and Bush must have been in some kind of property dispute with Afia and that's why they got her arrested, otherwise, an ordinary person like me don't see any other reason for the mighty US administration to spend so much of it's energy and time to jail a divorced mother of two little boys. Jihadis/mad mullhas are roaming freely on streets of Pakistan and openly spewing out venom against the US ceaselessly, yet, Americans appear to be helpless, surely there must be some mutual property interests amongst Zardari/ Kayani, Jihhadi Mullhas and Hilary/ Obama!

Yvonne Ridley | 14 years ago | Reply @ Hasan - it is true people are judged by the company they keep but they are also judged by their enemies as well - I can't get a visa to India (twice refused now) and my business and journalist visas have been cancelled by the US and I was deported from Israel as I attempted to cover the Palestinian elections. So as you see, I have some very powerful enemies out there - however, as with the Aafia case, the truth will always shine through. What I would like to know Hasan is where did the Pakistan Taliban come from and from where did they emerge because when i first began visiting Pakistan no one ever talked about them or discussed them. Are they manufactured? I wonder how you would fare in court hasan had you been raped, abused, tortured and thrown in a dark prison for more than five years, not knowing the fate of your children. And when you finally do emerge you are shot at point blank range and then renditioned to the US, back in the hands of your captors where again you are abused, not allowed your own legal team and not allowed to talk about your kidnap, rendition and torture. Have some heart for God's sake! She was not a religious fanatic, although she was a hafiz, observant and pious. My desire for justice is not a one-woman mission. Tens of thousands of Pakistanis want the same and they also know once Aafia is released then it will be easier to find the other 10,000 Disappeared in Pakistan. Your comments on the very idea a woman with three young children would go on jihad have drawn me to the conclusion you've not changed a single nappy in your life, have any experience of rearing children and have made yourself a laughing stock to those of us who are mothers who know the difficulties of bringing up children. I would like to know from where your anger and bitterness springs and why you hold so much hate for one woman whose only ambition in life was to return to her native Pakistan where she could work on her skills as a neuro scientist. She had just developed a learning programme for children with difficulties ... hardly the hallmarks of a woman hell bent on jihad. And seriously, if she was a jihadist why go to Afghanistan? She could wreak far more havoc in the West where she was able to move about quite freely as someone accustomed to the lifestyle of the west. Trust me brother, women do not go on jihad in Afghanistan when they've had such a stunning academic success at one of the top universities in the world. To the others who've responded in this forum, thank you for your support, observations and intelligent discussion. Yvonne

Hasan | 14 years ago | Reply @Yvonne: First of all and I am repeating myself somewhat why not go all the way to US and present you intellect in the court of law where both sides are present instead of wasting it on us who have no intimate knowledge of the case? Really pointless of you to discuss all that here. All we know is Afia is convicted in an open court of law where she was given full opportunity to defend herself which Afia wasted abundantly making irrelevant statements which did not help her case. This tells me either Afia's religious fanaticism got to her head or she was guilty as hell. All evidence aside, why would Afia pretend to be insane when she was not thus being dishonest? She has something to hide doesn't she, apart from not being god-fearing and pious as you are desperately trying to show her?

Finally, as any mother of a young family would tell you, you simply do not go on jihad, or on the run with a six month old baby, and two toddlers. It is laughable.

Well may be not if you were a Jihadi. In Pakistan people regularly give their sometimes very young children for jihad who blow themselves up killing numerous innocent people. If Afia was indeed interested in Jihad then she had the perfect cover. Think about it; she and her children were going to die for God so why any hesitation over that? Any hardship would be rewarded in the hereafter.

And please don’t defame the JI sisters – the ones I met were clinic psychologists, doctors, surgeons dentists and university lecturers.

Think twice before lecturing Pakistanis on Jamaat Islami and what they do. For your information, although I feel you can't be that unaware, this is the same Jamaat IsIami who supported the notorious Hudood Ordinance against women and other discriminatory and apartheid laws against minorities in Pakistan and any attempt to undo such laws is vehemently opposed by Jamaat Islami. The same Jamaat Islami which openly supports Taliban who regularly bomb innocent people including women and children in Pakistan. Same Jamaat Islami who have run numerous bloody movements against minorities in Pakistan causing numerous deaths. Same Jamaat Islami whose student wing regular brutally kills or wounds students and professors in Universities all over Pakistan. But you obviously have no issue with such blatant violations of human rights of completely innocent people caused by Jamaat Islami and neither any reservation in associating yourself with such an organisation. You obviously have chosen your company very carefully and; as a person is known by the company she keeps, we all know how to take you. Not that I had any doubts even earlier. No wonder you are an Afia fan.

Why am I not surprised? | 14 years ago | Reply To the ghairat brigade getting riled up for the daughter of the nation: If you haven't heard about it, google to check out justice being dispensed by the saviour of Islams. I guess, the poor woman was not a daughter of the nation. Poor soul. Inna llial wa innah elehe rajeun. There certainly is a ghairat deficit when it comes to a woman stoned to death by your messaih, the taliban? The flood failed to wash away the scum off the sealed minds. The knee deep blood of the innocent that the ghaiarat brigade is standing in will not go unnoticed by the Almighty. Just you wait and just you see. Sister Ridley, it would be nice to hear your views on introspection or has your mind been completely brain washed?

Ali Farooqui | 14 years ago | Reply @ Usama "the US judicial system is the most fair system without any bias" this is the same judicial system where capital punishments slapped on african americans is far more than white criminals for the same crime .. how about that for bias? 86 years for holding a gun which the GI's were to lazy to guard, and the only evidence comes from the same GI's who shot her.. what a joke!

Zubair | 14 years ago | Reply Thank you Yvonne Ridley for your support of Dr. Afia. No doubt it was blunder by Pakistani Govt. for not raising this critical issue to US..giving 86 years of sentence only on attempt(if it is true) of murder is a justice??????? Judge was clearly biased for not listening to comments leading to shooting attempt.

faraz | 14 years ago | Reply So Musharraf or Bush had a property dispute with Dr. Aafia that they had her arrested?

Hasan Naqvi | 14 years ago | Reply HATS OFF to Sister Yvonne Ridley. . .we love you Sister. . .May Allah (swt) bless you!!!

Ali | 14 years ago | Reply It's evident from your last para who your addressee is.. of all the Jamati bashing I ve read from the so-called liberals this one is the most parochial

Yvonne Ridley | 14 years ago | Reply To answer the questions. No, she is NOT a terrorist - a point accepted by the prosecution which openend their case by stating she is not al qaida, taliban or a member of any terrorist organisation. The case was narrowly defined on an incident of around two minutes in which she is accused of picking up a gun and shooting at US soldiers while in police custody in Ghazni. The judge stated from the very beginning of the trial that he was not interested in events leading up to the shooting which is why any attempt to mention the kidnap, rendition and torture of Aafia and her three children was closed down. I have detailed, eye witness accounts on film of people who saw Aafia in Bagram during her period of absence from 2003-2005. One of the biggest red herrings was a statement from KSM that Aafia married his cousin - I believe he gave this statement sometime during his 183 waterboardings. I can tell you now I would sign anything before someone even picked up a bucket of water. Aafia never remarried - there is no evidence to the contrary. Finally, as any mother of a young family would tell you, you simply do not go on jihad, or on the run with a six month old baby, and two toddlers. It is laughable. Most mothers won't even contemplate a trip to a high street supermarket with such a young family - add to that measles, mumps, chickenpox, nappy rash and ear, nose and throats problems associated with young children and you'll see it is ludicrous to suggest this is what she did. It is interesting most of the men never give this a second thought - hmm, obviously they've never changed a nappy in their life! Finally this case has nothing to do with how many times a day she or her supporters pray - her cause has rallied people of faith and no faith but their common desire is to see justice delivered and it has not been done in this wretched woman's case. And let's remember her baby son is still missing although when her eldest boy was visited in an Afghan prison by a US consular official he told him his name, his mother's identity, the fact he (unlike her) is a US citizen and that his baby brother Sulyman was dead. How on earth would a consular official know the baby was dead unless the US had been involved in their disappearance in the first place. It's not rocket science. And please don't defame the JI sisters - the ones I met were clinic psychologists, doctors, surgeons dentists and university lecturers. May be they're too busy earning a living and educating others to become actively involved in political elections. Kind regards all round Yvonne Ridley

kashifiat | 14 years ago | Reply I can't understand why management of Express tribune provided that no sense piece here. Miss Vasay is Indian and living in so called secular society and under the Western education system where she feels ashamed of become Muslim.

Maulana Diesel | 14 years ago | Reply Look we all know she had contacts with AlQaeda; that even her ex husband had said. She ended up marrying KSM's nephew. The questions that need to be asked are: 1) How did Aafia get to Afghanistan. Did the ISI sell her to the Americans? We know that before this whole fiasco the FBI was looking for her. 2) Lets say that she had ventured to Afghanistan and was caught. Lets even say that she did what they say she did i.e tried to shoot the soldiers. But under what law has she been repatriated to the US? 3) Under which US statute does trying to shoot officers get you 86 years in jail?

Hasan | 14 years ago | Reply

Sadly they lost interest when they discovered that Aafia normally wears a hijab and is a God-fearing woman who learned the Holy Qur’an and its meaning becoming a hafiz.

Typical expression of Islamist victim mentality, hoping that it would divert people's attention from Afia's shady past and wrongdoings. Yvonne has certainly found the weakness of people in Islamic lands that they are suckers for emotional Islamist talk. Of course God has descendent on Yvonne to tell her that Afia is god fearing. This Jamaat Islami style bigoted self righteous attitude is the reason the likes of Afia get too over confident of their standing with god and end up biting more than they can chew and hence get themselves into trouble. All supporters of afia, why don't you present all your "evidence" in court? Instead, in court we only see the usual gimmicks of a guilty person such as trying to portray oneself as insane or blaming the jooos or Martians for everything.

Hamza Malik | 14 years ago | Reply SHE ISN'T A NEUROSCIENTIST!! My God where does Tribune get these writers from who just wake up one morning and then decide they know everything better than everyone else? This is a link to a famous talk show where Fauzia Siddiqui has literally owned Zaid Hamid for saying Aafia Siddiqui is a neuro-scientist: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2YK_z55Rsg Please watch it at your pleasure. And please get your facts straight. She was at the US base in Bagram Afghanistan when the alleged incident occurred. We don't know if we'll ever get her back. As far as the US is concerned, she's a closed case. Only God knows what really happened although it is very apparent that the US itself did go very wrong somewhere. But since it's the US, i doubt it will ever accept it's mistakes.

Hasan | 14 years ago | Reply

Why are the Pakistani peroxide blondes not coming out in support of Aafia Siddiqui when she is closer to their league?

These peroxide blondes (your disgust and bias is obvious) have just come off the movement of restoring of judiciary expressing on everyone of us to respect judiciary. How can they now go against it and tell us not to respect decision of judiciary? You expect double standard from them? Damned if they do damned if they don't.

Isn’t it possible that Aafia is the ‘war booty’ for some crumbs America is throwing the way of Pakistan?

Don't know. Why don't you tell us instead of being more ambiguous than the case against afia in your opinion?

Neeraj, India | 14 years ago | Reply Well, another defender of the 'Afia the Innocent'. Do you really believe that she is innocent? No I don't think so. You are well aware of the fact that the woman is a terrorist, just as the jamatis too know this. By using your arguments, I can even defend Osama bin Landen. There is not a shred of evidence against him other than shouting 'death to America' and babbling little more than Afia. Good old Osama can even file defamation suits against various media houses, for calling him a terrorist! So, the question is why did you write such a long rhetoric in Afia's favor, despite knowing about her guilt? There could be two possible reasons. 1. to collect few extra claps from Mullahs and Mullies who are a obvious majority in Pakistan. 2. the usual infection the Muslims are prone to; the rediscovery. In males the symptoms are instant growth of beard and in females, the sudden or gradual disappearance of a woman beneath the burqa. I am discarding the second possibility as I don't see your fresh photograph wrapped in scarf with this article. If the first reason is true then that would be outrageous. As you are well aware of the fact that a few brave men and women in Pakistan are busy waging war against loony mullahs and their wretched self exploding followers. You may call these brave people peroxide blonds, but they are the only hope left for Pakistan. They are the ones who are fighting to keep the sanity alive in the land of the nuts. It take a lot of courage to challenge herds of lunatics while living amidst them. Even people of great stature such as Mr. Kamran Shafi are not spared. Instead of extending a moral support, you ended up handing over more ammo to the Jihadis by writing this foolish article.

Tilsim | 14 years ago | Reply Can someone spell out the central assertions of the case as presented by the defence and prosecution. There seems to be such mystery and confusion about this case. The commentary by column writers is not shedding further light. I don't know how any fairminded person can easily make up his mind one way or another without appropriate information.

Hamza Baloch | 14 years ago | Reply Absad athar oftenly use to say "eik to humy khud ko mujrim sabit kerny ka bhi bhot shock hia" Same now express tribune is doing with its blogers. The know they case was weak, they now amercian courts did not make a justice thats why the brinig al-qaeda, ji and other so many such things. Get a life please.

anonymous | 14 years ago | Reply Thank God. I was tired of that fasi zaka thing and his readers' senseless crap. A good piece of writing, and a blessed article.

Farzana Versey | 14 years ago | Reply Yvonne: Thank you for posting a comment (never mind that it was published after a long time) for your voice is hugely important on this subject. I have received some emails regarding the Jamaat-i-Islami. As one who has written about the Jamia Hafsa women as legitimate protestors, I would not tar any organisation with one brush. It is important for me to reiterate that I was positing two extreme stereotypes to drive home a point. You are right about the 'peroxide blondes' earlier enthusiasm; Aafia is their discomfort zone right now. I am afraid that the half-hearted liberal support is full of 'ifs and buts'. The JI may be in the forefront, but as I stated, I think they will force or be pinned to the Islamophobia tag, which helps no one. Incidentally, my past para was deleted and it reads:

> For a nation that wants to put its finger in every Islamic cake, the anti-Aafia mafia is icing for the US seeking hysteria to justify its hyperbolic xenophobia.

The other problem is that the terrorist tag will remain irrespective of what the prosecution states, and you do know that. I always follow up on cases and will continue to do so. I have written about the demonisation of violence using the Aafia case as a starting point. You might want to check it out here. Our paths will cross... - cmsarwar: Thank you, but I confess that being an Indian and physically removed from the case, I too imbue some emotionalism. The point, of course, is how people get used to linearity and refuse to ask questions at all. When op-ed columns begin to be seen as blogs, we are most certainly living in social networking cocoons.

Shoaib | 14 years ago | Reply One word for this Blog, and American judicial system..... BULLOCKS!

Pakistan | 14 years ago | Reply such a silly campaign I have recently noticed by Express Tribune every writer is trying to prove Afia guilty in support of "US Justice System". Even if she is there was no reason we should have handed her over to USA as Pakistan's own judicial system is always able to take right decisions and could bring her to the justice

Hasan Naqvi | 14 years ago | Reply Well i don't want to prove innocence of Dr. Aafia Siddqiui as there is already so much available for the people with "brains". Secondly, may i know the number of "Jamati" women you met & found then all tht u have written in the last para?? PLEASE do some research before you open your mouth - try to find out the list of JI women parliamentarians 2002 & check their education..& in case you fail to find, just lemme know & i'll fill your inbox with all the relevant information...!!!

cmsarwar | 14 years ago | Reply There is absolutely no doubt about the fact that American judicial system is,by and large,very fair and reliable.But Aafia's case ,as reported in the media,raises so many questions which keep on puzzling me.Farzana has summed up all these question very brilliantly.The whole Aafia episode does not make any sense.I have not read the detailed court order in this case but will someone please answer Farzana 's questions factually instead of indulging in emotional displays.The reported facts of the case look crazy and so does the sentence of 86 years of imprisonment.I do not believe American judicial system could be that crazy.

Yvonne Ridley | 14 years ago | Reply An interesting article from a new perspective but I don't think you quite nail the problem here although you do come very close. The 'blonde brigade' were quite vocal at the time of Aafia's arrest because they were campaigning for a brilliant, young neuro scientist who they saw pictured in the media on her graduation day with hair uncovered. Sadly they lost interest when they discovered that Aafia normally wears a hijab and is a God-fearing woman who learned the Holy Qur'an and its meaning becoming a hafiz. Sadly these days being an observant Muslim is often equated with fanaticism. Jamaat Islami are not political opportunisits and it was their very active female wing which lobbied and campaign strongly for Aafia. I've met many of their female activists and these are no subjigated or oppressed women, far from it. The only other political party which gave me a great deal of help in highlighting and publicising Aafia's case was Tehreek e Insaf under the leadership of Imran Khan. As for political opportunism, we've seen it in evidence in the last few days from ministers and top diplomats to other senior politicians who are now all jumping up and down and demanding justice for Aafia. On the issue of al Qaida, the opening sentence given by the prosecution was a firm statement saying Aafia was not al Qaida, nor was she a member of any other terrorist organisation. I do hope Farzana, you will follow your instincts and continue writing about Aafia because you are very close to the uncomfortable truth about a case which, as you rightly point out, has become unnecessarily complex. Yvonne Ridley

Why am I not surprised? | 14 years ago | Reply It is surprising to see the Jamaat-i-Islami leading protests and asking for the repatriation of a neuro-scientist as a “daughter of the nation”. The statement is off the mark. JI is not asking for repatriation of a neuro-scientist as a daughter of the nation. JI is not protesting because Aafia is innocent. JI is protesting because JI hopes to draw political mileage from the verdict of a US coust against a Muslim, regardless of her guilt or innocence. JI is simpling picking a low hanging fruit, that this verdict has offered. The disingenuous JI does not deserve any credit, whatsoever.

Qirat | 14 years ago | Reply The 'Jamaatis' supported her husband, they do not condemn suicide bombing just as they did not support Jinnah.

someone | 14 years ago | Reply I cannot believe that you said two things. Firstly, even if she was guilty of picking up a gun to attack her captors, they were her CAPTORS, who also captured her children and tortured them, we should commend her for her bravery, for the job of firing at the captors of our women and children was not being carried out by the vast majority of the men among Muslims. Secondly, how could you claim that the "Jamaatis" are insincere about their struggle for her freedom. Did it ever occurr to you that you have been brainwashed regarding the intentions, motives and actions of the ONLY men among the Muslims who are fighting american oppression face to face (the jihadis)? They want her free, BECAUSE they cannot bear the torment she has been through. End of story. You play very well into the hands of americans when you question their sincerity. No one is paying them, and in fact, their uncompromised stance against america has cost them their safety, wealth and health. support the mujahideen, without whom there is no honour among Muslims. The only way to free her is jihad, jihad which has to result with her freedom and the complete destruction of america, and all her allies who kidnap and rape women and children!

Usama Zafar | 14 years ago | Reply Well I believe if the US court found her guilty then it must have been based on some evidence as the US judicial system is the most fair system without any bias or dishonesty. So how can you just say that she was accused of something that did not happen? Secondly this has got nothing to do with our corrupt leaders and 'evil West'. She was tried in court for a certain crime and found guilty and I think if she has done the crime and if she indeed has links with the terrorists then she deserves the verdict. The fact that we have corrupt leaders and that the US and the West are attacking the countries with 'good wishes' doesn't mean that she should be given a free pass.

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