Supporters
of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, a U.S.-trained neuroscientist accused
of ties
to al-Qaeda, demand her release, Islamabad, Feb. 21.
The Nation, Pakistan
Pakistan Fails Miserably to Protect its People from the United States
"Minister
Kaira's callous disregard for this daughter of the nation [Dr. Aafia Siddiqui],
demonized as a terrorist by the United States in order to sling mud at the dignity and
credibility of the Pakistani public and Diaspora, is condemnable."
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.
Qamar Zaman Kaira, the minister for Information and
Broadcasting, shot his mouth off during a meeting with journalists the case of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui. It was really shocking to hear
him say that the government wouldn't ask the U.S.
to repatriate her. His comment flies in the face of popular sentiment and
greatly embarrasses those calling out to have this hapless woman rescued.
[Editor's Note: According to the Associated
Press of Pakistan, Minister Kaira said that Pakistan
may only request Dr. Aafia Siddiqui's repatriation,
but that the U.S. isn't bound to hand her over to Pakistan. According to Wikipedia and The
New York Times, Dr. Siddiqui is a Massachusetts Institute of Technology
and BrandeisUniversity trained neuroscientist. Born in Pakistan, she is accused of being a member of
al-Qaeda and assaulting with a deadly weapon and attempting to kill U.S. troops and FBI agents who sought to
interrogate her while she was in custody. On February 2, a jury in U.S.
District Court in Manhattan found her guilty of all seven counts against her, including attempted
murder. She faces life in prison when she is sentenced in May.]
Would Mr. Kaira have said the same if his own daughter had
met with such a fate? His callous disregard for this daughter of the nation,
demonized as a terrorist by the United States
in order to sling mud at the dignity and credibility of the Pakistani public
and Diaspora, is condemnable. Has he any idea of the suffering of her children
who have disappeared and her family, all because of the groundless theory that
she single-handedly tried to assassinate a group of U.S.
commandos in Afghanistan?
Was he just too timid to annoy the Americans?
In the first place, since it's beyond doubt that she was
handed over to the U.S.
by General Musharraf under dubious circumstances, it is obligatory for the
government to leave no stone unturned to secure her release. Secondly, Minister
Kaira’s statement also shows that the government is run by people who give
priority to their own selfish motives, rather than safeguarding the rights of
the masses.
Likewise, it's easy to guess what response he would have
about other persons handed over to the U.S., and who have families in Pakistan
that have been struggling to learn of their whereabouts. On the one hand,
people like Kaira have sided with the United
States, and on the other, they've shown
themselves to be lily-livered about holding the intelligence services
accountable for illegal acts - like abducting innocent citizens in broad
daylight.
By any reckoning, missing persons are the victims of the
arbitrary activity of a number of agencies, which are proof of the pro-American
policies pursued by the previous regime and unflinchingly endorsed by the current
leadership.
Their tragedy has also brought home the fact that the
government’s commitment to the people is only skin deep. Their cases have dragged
on and on in the vain hope that the civilian dispensation would ensure their
release. There hopes have now receded into oblivion.
Mr. Kaira’s comments will deeply inflame public feeling.
Coming from a member of a democratically-elected government, these remarks have
dismayed the average patriotic Pakistani, particularly in regard to their
confidence in our civilian leaders. Since he was a usurper, they were right to
expecting virtually nothing from General Musharraf. Yet in Pakistan,
even democratic appearances can be deceptive.
