Release of Dr Aafia Siddiqui may be imminent: sources

ISLAMABAD: Well-placed sources within diplomatic corps on Saturday night revealed that release of Dr Aafia Siddiqui may be imminent, ARY News reported.

Ms Siddiqui is a Pakistani national who was charged by a US court with murder attempts and was sentenced to 86 years in prison.

She is currently incarcerated in the US. Pakistan has been pressing the US for the release of Ms Siddiqui for a long time.

Read More: ‘I want to get out of US prison’ – Dr Aafia writes to PM Khan

According to sources, the Afghan Taliban, during their ongoing negotiations with the US, have presented a list of several prisoners which the Taliban want to be released.

Sources have informed that Ms Siddiqui’s name is among the top ten names whose release is being demanded by the Taliban.

It was learnt through reliable sources that the US was ‘seriously considering’ the release of some of the prisoners which could be set free during the final round of US-Afghan negotiations.

The Taliban, sources informed, could also release some of the captives whose release the US has demanded to reciprocate the US gesture.

In November last year, Pakistan’s consul general in Houston met Dr. Aafia at the prison where she handed him over the letter addressed to Mr. Khan.

‘I want to get out of the prison, as my imprisonment in the US jail is illegal,” she had written.