ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday instructed Pakistan’s foreign ministry to remain engaged with the United States (US) government and the country’s mission in Washington for the release of jailed Pakistani neuroscientist Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, Pakistani state media reported. 

Siddiqui, a 49-year-old mother of three, is currently serving an 86-year sentence at the Federal Medical Center in Carswell, Texas after a New York court convicted her in 2010 of attempting to shoot and kill a group of US soldiers and FBI agents in Afghanistan who wanted to interrogate her for alleged links to Al-Qaeda. 

On Thursday, Siddiqui’s sister, Dr. Fowzia, met with PM Sharif in connection with efforts for the release of the Pakistani neuroscientist, whose sentencing has riled many in Pakistan, including the former and current Pakistani governments that had campaigned for her release and paid for her legal defense. 

“She (Dr. Fowzia) appreciated the measures the government was undertaking for Dr. Aafia’s well-being and requested the Government of Pakistan to redouble its efforts for the early release of Dr. Aafia,” Pakistan’s state-run APP news agency reported. 

“The prime minister assured Dr. Fowzia Siddiqui of the Government of Pakistan’s full support.” 

Aafia Siddiqui earned advanced degrees from Brandeis University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before she was sentenced for assaulting US soldiers after being detained in Afghanistan two years earlier. 

Her punishment sparked outrage in Pakistan among political leaders and her supporters, who viewed her as a victim of the US criminal justice system. 

In the years since, Pakistani officials have publicly expressed interest in any sort of deal or swap that could result in her release from US custody, and her case has continued to draw attention from supporters. 

In 2018, for instance, an Ohio man was sentenced to 22 years in prison who prosecutors said had planned to fly to Texas and attack the prison where Siddiqui is being held, in an attempt to free her. 

The government of Nawaz Sharif, three-time former prime minister and elder brother of PM Sharif’s, also made efforts for Siddiqui’s release during his tenure. 

“The prime minister lauded Dr. Fowzia’s untiring efforts for several years in the pursuit of justice for her sister,” the APP report added.