Aafia Siddiqui is Pakistan’s daughter, govt’s priority, says FM Ishaq Dar
- DPM says further govt had even sought clemency for Aafia from Biden
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Sunday stated there should be no misconception Dr Aafia Siddiqui, who’s imprisoned in US, is Pakistan’s daughter and a priority for the government.
Addressing the Pakistani-American community in New York, Dar said that efforts to resolve Aafia’s case will continue until a solution is found.
He said this in response to the social media reaction on his earlier statement regarding the incarcerated Pakistani neuroscientist.
Addressing an event in Washington on Friday, responding to a query about imprisonment of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, Foreign Minister Dar had made comparison between incarceration of Imran and Aafia.
He had said if “due process of the law has resulted in that action [arrest of Aafia],” then the same applies to Imran. “There’s no exception.”
‘Legal due process has no exceptions’, Dar compares Aafia, Imran’s arrests
Here in New York Dar clarified that he was asked a question about Imran, upon which, he said when the Pakistani government raises the issue of Aafia’s release with the US, it is told that the legal process does not allow for it. He said he just tried to make his point on the PTI founder’s arrest as there is also a legal process in Imran’s case.
Dismissing the criticism he received, he said that the entire world is appreciating Pakistan’s activities in the United States, yet opponents have begun criticising, following which, he said, he had to clarify. He also said, “If someone doesn’t understand English, what is my fault?”
After receiving the backlash, in a statement a day ago, FM Dar had said his comments in the US about the case of Dr Aafia were being “taken out of context”.
“Our government’s stance on the issue of Dr Aafia Siddiqui’s release is clear and unequivocal,” he had said in a post on X.
The deputy prime minister further stated that the government had also written a letter to former US president Joe Biden on the issue of Aafia, and even sought clemency for her from Biden before he left the office. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also met her sister two days ago to assure full support, he said, adding that Pakistan has made every effort to secure the release of Aafia Siddiqui.
Dar said that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government has always supported the release of Aafia, providing all diplomatic and judicial support for her release.
Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif also spoke to former US president Barack Obama in this regard, he said, adding that the government made immense efforts to secure Aafia’s release in 2015, 2016 and 2017 and it continued to do so.