ISLAMABAD: The United States on Tuesday declined to comment on Pakistani neuroscientist Dr. Aafia Siddiqui’s case, who is serving an 86-year sentence in an American prison on terrorism charges after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif requested her release on humanitarian grounds in a letter to President Joe Biden earlier this month.
The information about the letter emerged last Friday after a state lawyer submitted a copy to the Islamabad High Court, which had recently requested a detailed report on the efforts made by Pakistani authorities to extradite Siddiqui.
A US-trained neuroscientist, Siddiqui married a nephew of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, a self-proclaimed mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, before being convicted in 2010 on multiple charges, including attempting to kill US soldiers in Afghanistan.
In his letter, Sharif noted that Pakistani officials, during consular visits, had raised concerns about her treatment in prison, expressing fears that she might take her own life.
US State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel was asked about the prime minister’s letter during a media briefing in Washington, DC, though he refused to comment on the Biden administration’s response to the issue.
“I certainly wouldn’t get into private diplomatic communications,” he said. “And on the case itself, I would refer to the Department of Justice to speak to any inquiries regarding Dr. Siddiqui’s incarceration.”
Siddiqui’s sister, Fauzia, has taken up her case in the media and has visited her in captivity in the US.
During the hearing, she urged the government to make every effort to bring her back to the country, as the court reviewed the details of how the Pakistani neuroscientist ended up in an American prison.
– With input from AP
