Dr. Fowzia says 'key' for Aafia Siddiqui's release in Islamabad

KARACHI: Dr. Fowzia reached Pakistan after meeting her incarcerated sister Dr Aafia Siddiqui in the United States, ARY News reported on Monday.

Last month, Dr Fowzia met her sister Dr. Aafia Siddiqui in Fort Worth town of the United States where she is currently detained, after a long wait of 20 years.

Speaking to the media upon her arrival in Pakistan from the US, Dr. Fowzia said: “I couldn’t imagine that Aafia was in such a bad situation.”

Fowzia Siddiqui said Prime Minister Shehabz Sharif, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and former president Asif Ali Zardari helped her in meeting Aafia Siddiqui in the United States.

Dr. Fowzia Siddiqui also appreciated the efforts made by the Islamabad High Court for the meeting and added that the key to Aafia’s release is in Islamabad.

Read more: Aafia Siddiqui meets her sister Dr. Fowzia after 20 years

She hoped to meet Aafia Siddiqui again in July or August۔

Background

In 2003, Siddiqui was wanted by the FBI for questioning for possible ties to al Qaeda and was detained by Pakistani authorities, according to US media reports at the time.

US officials alleged that when the Afghan police captured Siddiqui in July 2008, she was carrying two pounds (900 grams) of sodium cyanide, which releases a highly toxic gas, notes that referred to a mass casualty attack, and a list of US landmarks.

Siddiqui was never charged with links to terrorism. The FBI agents, US soldiers, and interpreters said that as they were about to interrogate her at an Afghan police compound in Ghazni, Afghanistan, she grabbed a rifle and began shooting at them. None of them were wounded, but Siddiqui was shot in the abdomen when they returned fire.