US declines to comment on PM Sharif’s request for Aafia Siddiqui’s release

Aafia Siddiqui repatriation US Ishaq Dar

The United States (US) State Department Wednesday denied commenting on incarcerated Pakistani neuroscientist Dr. Aafia Siddiqui’s case.

Pakistani neuroscientist Dr. Aafia Siddiqui’s is serving an 86-year sentence in an American prison on terrorism charges.

Addressing a press conference in Washington, US State Department’s Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel stated that inquiries regarding Dr. Aafia Siddiqui’s case should be directed to the Department of Justice.

“So first, I certainly wouldn’t get into private diplomatic communications,” he said.

Read more: Pakistan seeks US presidential pardon for Dr Aafia Siddiqui

Last week it emerged that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has requested Dr Aafia Siddiqui’s release on humanitarian grounds in a letter to President Joe Biden.

The information about the letter emerged last Friday after a state lawyer submitted a copy to the Islamabad High Court, which had recently requested a detailed report on the efforts made by Pakistani authorities to extradite Siddiqui.

“Pakistan government has penned a letter to the US president to seek pardon for Dr Aafia Siddiqui,” AAGP Munawar Dogal told the IHC bench.

Dogal informed the IHC that the premier has written a letter to the US president for the pardon.

Read more: ‘Aafia Siddiqui sexually abused in US jail’, reveals Talha Mahmood

She was born in 1972 into an educated family in Karachi. She pursued her studies in the United States, earning a PhD in neuroscience from Brandeis University in 2001.

Known for her academic brilliance and religious devotion, her life took a significant shift when she was accused of having ties to ‘extremist organizations’ following the 9/11 attacks.



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