Islamabad: Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has directed the government to immediately establish contact with the family of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui and provide her with possible legal assistance in the US.
A US jury found Aafia, 37, a mother and neuroscientist trained at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology, guilty on all charges. She could face life in prison when sentenced on May 6. The president’s spokesperson Farhatullah Babar said Zardari issued the direction soon after a US pronounced guilty verdict against the Pakistani scientist.
He said that the president was concerned about the verdict and expressed the hope that justice would ultimately be done as the case passes through subsequent judicial stages in the US.
Meanwhile, relatives of Aafia slammed the US justice system on Thursday, declaring her innocent and vowing to fight for her release.
Dozens of people protested in support of Siddiqui in Islamabad on Thursday as Pakistan’s government expressed “dismay” over the verdict, vowing to consult her family and lawyers on how to secure her release.
Siddiqui was accused of grabbing a rifle at an Afghan police station where she was being interrogated in July 2008 and trying to gun down US servicemen.
Although she was not charged with terrorism, prosecutors described her as a would-be terrorist who had plotted to bomb New York.
The mother of three is said to have married a relative of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, self-described mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
In a case shrouded in mystery, relatives and some human rights groups claim Siddiqui was imprisoned by US forces after disappearing with her three children in Pakistan in 2003 and that she is now mentally disturbed.
“The government of Pakistan made extensive diplomatic and legal efforts on Aafia Siddiqui’s behalf,” said foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Basit.
— With input from agencies
