Aafia Siddiqui’s US counsel set to visit Pakistan in May

ISLAMABAD: The counsel Clive Stafford Smith, representing Dr. Aafia Siddiqui in the United States, has planned to arrive to attend a court hearing on her release, the local counsel of Pakistani neurologist, Imran Shafique, told the Islamabad High Court (IHC) at a hearing on Monday.

Stafford Smith will arrive in Pakistan on May 4, and the current hearing to be adjourned until May 6 to allow him time for consultation with the USA-based lawyer, as stated by Shafique while requesting the Court.

Justice Sardar Ijaz Ishaq Khan, who was presiding over the hearing, asked government representatives if they had any objections to the proposed date.

The government lawyer showed no objection to the proposed date by Aafia’s lawyer, and subsequently, the hearing was postponed until 6 May.

During the hearing, the esteemed court observed the non- presence of newly appointed Attorney General Umar Aslam. the case is now set to be heard on 6 May for further deliberation.

Earlier, during the prior hearing, the federal government rejected a request to trade Dr. Aafia Siddiqui’s release for the freedom of Dr. Shakil Afridi, a Pakistani doctor convicted of aiding the CIA in the search for Osama bin Laden.

Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, born in 1972 in Karachi, Pakistan, was an accomplished neuroscientist who earned a PhD from Brandeis University in 2001.

She was captured in Afghanistan in 2008, reportedly in possession of sodium cyanide and intentions to strike US sites. During interrogation, Siddiqui reportedly grabbed a US soldier’s gun and attempted to kill US agents while yelling, “Death to America.” She was injured throughout the procedure and later showed signs of severe mistreatment.