People
outraged over the conviction in New York of U.S. trained
neuroscientist
Aafia Siddiqui set U.S. flags alight, in Quetta, 2/4.
The Nation,
Pakistan
U.S. 'Persecution' of
Aafia Siddiqui Shames Pakistan
"This
highly educated woman is being forced to rot in jail because of her views - which
the U.S. has branded 'terrorist.' The case serves as a reminder that Pakistan's
citizens have been betrayed by their own government and handed over to the United
States."
Protests broke out across Pakistan, after the conviction in a New York court of Aafia Siddiqui, a neuroscientist thought by the U.S. to be tied to Al-Qaeda.
THE conviction in the United
States of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui for attempted murder has caused more problems for America
than it has solved. The U.S. finds itself held responsible for a poor woman, broken
in health, deprived of her children, in the past wrongfully imprisoned and now
facing more time behind bars. This highly educated woman is being forced to rot
in jail because of her views - which the U.S. has branded "terrorist."
Dr. Siddiqui is the citizen
of a supposed a U.S. ally, which has done little to assist her or recover her
missing children. The president [Asif Ali Zardari] may
have ordered the family contacted and the government to provide all possible
legal aid for her appeal, but it must be noted that he did so only after the entire
country erupted in protest.
If the verdict doesn't remove
any last vestige of trust in the American justice system, then the question of
why the government waited until the appellate stage to step in [after the
initial trial]. The president has expressed confidence in the American justice
system, which one may interpret as saying that Pakistan won't demand, as it
should, that Dr. Siddiqui be tried in Pakistan. If she can be tried in the U.S.
over events that took place in Afghanistan because she is said to have assaulted
American citizens there, she can by the same token be tried in Pakistan. Instead
of viewing this demand as reflecting a lack of confidence in American justice, its
rejection should be seen as a vote of no-confidence in Pakistan’s. But before anything
else, the demand must be made.
Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US
Among the many prominent
voices raised in Siddiqui's favor is that of Lord Nazir Ahmed
of Britain [the U.K.'s first Muslim life peer], who has decided to launch a
campaign against Siddiqui's unfair trail and flawed case and demand her release.
In a letter to President Obama, Lord Nazir warned that unless there is a retrial
with independent lawyers and media present, serious questions will be raised
about the U.S. judicial system. Her continued detention will also have an
adverse effect on the security of U.S. personnel in our region.
The case serves as a reminder
that Pakistan's citizens have been betrayed by their own government and handed
over to the United States. For this surrender of sovereignty combined with
putting its own citizens at risk of torture, no one has been punished. There
has been no recovery of such people. Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry has only
now ordered the registration of First Information
Reports, although the issue has already reached the Supreme Court.
It's time for the government to
put its citizens first and review relations with the United States, which up to
now continues to abuse Pakistanis.
