Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has written a letter to US President Joe Biden. In his letter, Sharif has requested for the release of Pakistani woman Aafia Siddiqui, who is serving an 86-year jail sentence in America in a terrorism case. The government lawyer gave this information to an Islamabad court on Friday. During the proceedings, a copy of Sharif’s letter was also submitted to the court. The court is hearing the petition of the sister of America-trained neurologist Afia Siddiqui. Afia was convicted in 2010 on charges including attempting to murder American citizens. Afia came under suspicion for her involvement in terrorist activities when she left the US and married Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-proclaimed mastermind of the September 11, 2011 terrorist attacks in the US. In 2008 she was injured in a clash with US authorities in Afghanistan. According to eyewitnesses, he also fired at American authorities.
Afia has served 16 years of imprisonment
According to a copy of the letter sent by Shehbaz Sharif on October 13, the Pakistan Prime Minister told Biden that Aafia has spent 16 years in jail. He wrote that the matter should be looked at with compassion for Aafia.
Sharif said that over the past few years, several Pakistani officials have met her diplomatically and expressed serious concerns about the treatment she received, which has had a serious impact on her already fragile mental and physical health.
The Pakistani Prime Minister quoted officials’ assessment and wrote that he feared she might take her own life. He urged Biden to accept the clemency petition of Afia’s sister and order her release on humanitarian grounds.