PM Shehbaz requests 'presidential pardon' for Aafia Siddiqui in letter to Biden administration

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has written a letter to US President Joe Biden, requesting a 'presidential pardon' for Dr Aafia Siddiqui, a high official revealed on Friday.

During the hearing of Aafia Siddiqui’s case, Additional Attorney General Pakistan Munawwar Iqbal Dogal appeared in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) and disclosed that the government of Pakistan is actively seeking her release.

Dr Fauzia Siddiqui had filed an application in the IHC to pressure the government to intensify efforts for the release of her sister, who is currently serving an 86-year sentence in a US federal prison.

After the hearing, Aafia Siddiqui's lawyer, Imran Shafiq, spoke to the media outside the court, stating, "After two years, there has been significant progress in the Aafia case due to our efforts."

He further mentioned that the court had directed the government to send a high-level delegation to the United States.

In 2010, Pakistani neuroscientist Aafia Siddiqui, who had studied in the US, was found guilty of attempted murder and assault by a New York federal district court and sentenced to 86 years in prison.

These charges arose from an interrogation by the US authorities in Ghazni, Afghanistan. Siddiqui denied all allegations against her.

At the age of 18, Siddiqui went to the US for higher education and earned a PhD in neuroscience from Brandeis University.

According to media reports, the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks in 2001 brought Siddiqui to the attention of the FBI due to her alleged financial contributions to proscribed organisations.

She was accused of acquiring $10,000 worth of night-vision goggles and military manuals.

American authorities suspected Siddiqui's affiliation with a banned militant outfit during her time in the US.

She disappeared in around 2003, along with her three children, in Karachi. Five years later she turned up in Pakistan's war-torn neighbour, Afghanistan, where she was arrested by local forces in Ghazni.