In a bittersweet reunion that transcended prison walls and spanned two decades, Dr Fawzia Siddiqui finally came face to face with her sister, Dr Aafia Siddiqui, at an undisclosed United States penitentiary.
Fawzia was accompanied by Clive Stafford Smith, a human rights lawyer who recently helped bring home two Pakistanis from Guantanamo Bay. Smith has already met Dr Siddiqui in prison once.
The emotionally charged encounter took place under strict security measures, with the sisters only being allowed to see each other through a glass window.
The stringent protocols forbade any physical contact, leaving both Fawzia and Aafia to communicate their love and longing through tearful gazes and silent gestures.
Who is Aafia Siddiqui?
Aafia Siddiqui is a Pakistani scientist who was found guilty of attempting to murder and assault American personnel in Afghanistan in 2010. She received a prison sentence of 86 years.
She consistently claimed her innocence, and the case sparked significant controversy.
Aafia Siddiqui was born in Karachi, Pakistan, in 1972.
She studied biochemistry at the University of Karachi and neuroscience at Brandeis University, earning her degrees in the early 1990s.
Later, she completed a Ph.D. in neuroscience at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in 2001.
After completing her studies, she returned to Pakistan and worked as a neuroscientist at Aga Khan University Hospital.
She also engaged in humanitarian efforts, collaborating with organisations like the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund.
In 2003, Pakistani authorities arrested Siddiqui due to suspected links with al-Qaeda. Although she was released after a few months, she remained under house arrest.
Then, in 2008, she went missing from her home in Karachi.
Aafia Siddiqui reappeared in Afghanistan in 2009 and was subsequently apprehended by US forces in Ghazni province.
She faced charges of attempting to murder and assault American personnel. In August 2009, she was extradited to the United States.
The trial commenced in January 2010, and she was convicted two months later.
The court handed her an 86-year prison sentence.
Throughout the proceedings, Aafia Siddiqui maintained her innocence and appealed her conviction.
Currently, she is serving her sentence at the Federal Medical Centre in Carswell, Texas. She will be eligible for parole in 2033.
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The Islamabad High Court (IHC) issued a ruling directing the authorities concerned to provide details of the case against Aafia Siddiqui to her legal counsel.
The MIT-trained neuroscientist, Aafia Siddiqui, is serving an 86-year prison sentence after being convicted by a US court of seven counts of attempted murder and assault on US military personnel in Afghanistan.
A single bench of the IHC comprising Justice Sardar Aijaz Ishaque Khan conducted a hearing of the constitutional petition of Dr Fowzia Siddiqui, who moved the court through his lawyer, Imran Shafiq Advocate, seeking to share of case details with her council in the United States, Clive Stafford Smith.
During the hearing, the court remarked that the purpose of sharing information with the attorney is to prepare the case for the court in the US, adding that Mr. Clive will assure that the information will not be used except in the Aafia Siddiqui case.
The court also directed authorities to take all possible steps to ensure Fowzia Siddiqui’s security in the United States.
