ISLAMABAD: The lawyer representing Pakistani neuroscientist Dr. Aafia Siddiqui in the United States, Clive Stafford Smith, is set to visit Pakistan on May 4 to attend a hearing related to her release and repatriation, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) was informed on Monday.
Imran Shafique, Siddiqui’s local counsel, informed the court of Smith’s upcoming visit and requested an adjournment of the current proceedings to allow time for consultation. Justice Sardar Ijaz Ishaq Khan, who presided over the hearing, inquired if the government had any objections. The law officer confirmed there were none, and the court subsequently scheduled the next hearing for May 6.
The IHC also noted the absence of Additional Attorney General Umar Aslam during the session. The case has now been adjourned until May 6 for further proceedings.
In a previous hearing, the federal government had rejected a proposed exchange of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui for Dr. Shakil Afridi, the Pakistani doctor convicted of aiding the CIA in locating Osama bin Laden.
Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, born in 1972 in Karachi, earned her PhD in neuroscience from Brandeis University in 2001. Her case gained global attention after she disappeared in 2003 following the arrest of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, to whom she was reportedly linked through marriage to his nephew.
In 2008, she was detained in Afghanistan allegedly carrying chemicals and documents related to terrorist attacks. During her interrogation, she reportedly attempted to shoot US personnel and was shot herself. In 2010, she was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to 86 years in a US prison, though she was never charged with terrorism.
Her son was later recovered in Afghanistan, while her other two children remain missing.
