Dr. Fowzia Siddiqui says she has no words to describe the sorry condition of Dr. Aafia

KARACHI, June 12 (SABAH): Aafia Movement leader and noted neuro physician of the country Dr. Fowzia Siddiqui previous night returned Karachi after meeting her jailed sister Dr. Aafia Siddiqui in the United States.

Pasban Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman Altaf Shakoor, Waseemuddin Sheikh, Engineer Waseem Farooqui, Hafeez Khattak, Professor Tanveer Malik, Yusra Zaffar, Aafia Movement coordinator and spokesman Muhammad Ayub, Shahzeb Hussain, Imam Hussain Hamdam, Shahzeb Awan, and a large number of Aafia Movement supporters welcomed Dr. Fowzia Siddiqui at Karachi Airport.

Talking to the media, Dr. Fowzia Siddiqui said that she has no words to describe the sorry condition of Dr. Aafia. She said when she met her sister she failed to recognise her at first glance. She had not expected to see her sister in such a pathetic condition.

Dr. Fowzia Siddiqui said she wonders how she would face the children of Aafia and tell them that she had left their mother in that hellish jail.

She said Islamabad High Court, Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, former president Asif Ali Zardari, Senator Mushtaq Ahmed Khan, Senator Talha Mehmood and both print and electronic media helped to make this meeting happen.

She saluted the Aafia Movement volunteers active on social media. She thanked Senator Mushtaq Ahmed Khan who traveled with her to the US. She said the Senator himself is the witness of the pathetic condition of Dr. Aafia in jail, and he would surely brief the government, parliament and the Senate about it. She said that when the courts dole out justice to people, the governments are compelled to give relief.

She said the lawyer of Aafia, Clive Stafford Smith has submitted an application for meeting with Aafia in July and a meeting is expected in the past week of July. She said that Clive Stafford Smith says that the key for release of Aafia is present in Islamabad. She said she wished that she would bring Aafia back home in July and she would talk to the media instead of her. She said this is possible if the government of Pakistan wishes so. She said during the meeting with Aafia many misconceptions were cleared including that Aafia didn’t want to talk or meet with her family.

Dr. Fowzia Siddiqui said on July 7 the IHC would hear the petition for the release of Aafia. She said we all want speedy steps for an early return of Aafia and the government of Pakistan and its Foreign Office must have to discharge their responsibilities in this regard. She regretted that the ministry of foreign affairs has still not shared its report on Aafia Siddiqui.

Dr. Fowzia Siddiqui demanded that as per the jail rules Dr. Aafia should be given the opportunity to talk to her children and family on telephone for 300 minutes every month. She said that the children and family of Dr. Aafia want to talk to her on telephone or video call on Eid ul Azha.