232 replies to this topic

[pakistanzindabaad]

http://thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=130188

Legal eye

Saturday, August 16, 2008
Babar Sattar

The writer is a lawyer based in Islamabad. He is a Rhodes scholar and has an LL.M from Harvard Law School

“We have captured 689 [members of Al Qaeda] and handed over 369 to the United States. We have earned bounties totalling millions of dollars. Those who habitually accuse us of ‘not doing enough’ in the war on terror should simply ask CIA how much prize money it has paid to the government of Pakistan,” boasts General Musharraf on page 237 of his autobiography. Who were these 369 Al Qaedians and how many of them are citizens of Pakistan, the general doesn’t state. Was Dr Afia Siddiqui amongst them? Did she fetch the general hefty prize money for being kidnapped from Karachi in 2003 under the watchful eye of his regime and transported to the US penitentiary in Bagram? Can a government indulge in a trade more reprehensible than trafficking citizens?

The general further states in In the line of Fire (page 238) that “the policy followed by Pakistan on the extradition of foreigners has been first to ask their countries of origin to take them back. If a country of origin refuses (as is normally the case), we hand the prisoner over to the United States.” Whence did the general derive this authority to script his own extradition policy? Did no one tell this man – who, to the misfortune of our troubled land and its battered populace, has been at the country’s helm for too long – that in Pakistan the extradition of citizens and foreigners alike is governed by a law called The Extradition Act, 1972? This law mandates that “every fugitive offender shall be liable to be apprehended and surrendered in the manner provide in this Act.”

Under Section 6 of the Extradition Act a foreign state must requisition the Pakistani government for the surrender of a fugitive offender. To pursue the request, the government must order a judicial inquiry into the extradition offense to be conducted by a magistrate pursuant to Section 7. Under Section 11, if “the federal government is of the opinion that the fugitive offender ought to be surrendered” in view of the enquiry conducted by the magistrate under Section 8, “it may issue a warrant for the custody and removal of the fugitive offender and for his delivery at a place and to a person to be named in the warrant.” While the Pakistani government has the right to simply refuse a foreign state’s extradition request without even ordering an enquiry, it has no authority whatsoever to hand a prisoner over to the US without abiding by the judicial due process.

It is not that Pakistan and the US do not have a sufficient basis for exchanging fugitives under the formal extradition framework. The two countries also have a treaty arrangement too. An extradition treaty was signed between the US and the UK in London on Dec 22, 1931, and its provisions were extended to British India from March 9, 1942. As a successor state Pakistan inherited the treaty obligations. And after the Extradition Act entered into force on Feb 20, 1973, the Pakistani government formally endorsed the US-UK treaty for being in operation in Pakistan, in accordance with Section 3(1) of the Extradition Act. But why should the US bother to go through a formal extradition process with all its attendant procedural and substantive protections (read inconvenience) when the Pakistani government is more than pleased to sweep up citizens and foreigners alike in the name of fighting terror and cart them off to secret US detention centres across the globe?

It is true that the Bush administration has singlehandedly run into dirt the image of the US as a friend and advocate of rule of law. Human rights and civil liberties groups within the US are dismayed at the post-9/11 legislative acts and executive policies of the Bush administration and the substantive harm they have done to erode established standards of human rights protections around the globe. The infamous Patriot Act is one such measure. On Nov 13, 2001, President Bush passed the Military Order – “Detention, Treatment, and Trial of Certain Non-Citizens in the War Against terrorism” – under which non-US nationals can be meted out military justice at the president’s discretion: tried in a military court devoid of ordinary procedural protections; detained in conditions prescribed by the Secretary of Defence; and with no right of appeal before any court of law.

Thus in its post-9/11 madness. The US has deliberately introduced discrimination within its justice system on the basis of nationality. What won the Bush administration almost as much disrepute domestically and around the world as the Patriot Act/Military Order was the leaked Torture Memo drafted by the US Department of Justice to advise the Bush Administration and the CIA. It stated that the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment implemented under title 18 of the US Code “prohibits only the most extreme acts by reserving criminal penalties solely for torture and declining to require such penalties for cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” Torture was defined as physical pain “equivalent in intensity to the pain accompanying serious physical injury, such as organ failure, impairment of bodily function, or even death.”

Would parading alien prisoners naked or even their rape in US penitentiaries amount to torture? Not under the legal advice rendered by the Department of Justice in the Torture Memo. The US laws and policies specially contrived to persecute non-US nationals is a matter of record, as are narratives of appalling abuses carried out with impunity in Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo under the Bush administration. Civilized countries have protested these despicable US laws and practices and also exhibited reluctance to extradite even foreigners to the US due to the knowledge that their basic rights will stand prejudiced post-extradition. But even in its deranged terror-phobic mode, the US has restricted itself to abusing and torturing non-nationals only.

One thing the Musharraf regime cannot be held liable for is nationality-based discrimination. The Afia Siddiqui case highlights the Musharraf regime’s policy of trafficking citizens and foreigners alike, oblivious to all legal and moral constraints.

Why fault the Bush administration for torturing Dr Siddiqui and denying her fundamental rights? Did President Bush swear an oath to protect and defend the Constitution and the citizens of Pakistan? The crucial question is not whether Afia Siddiqui can be tried in the US after being arrested in Afghanistan, but who ordered her kidnapping from Karachi and transportation to the Bagram prison in 2003 and who all in Pakistan are complicit in this illegal and shameful act. One of the most fundamental promises of our Constitution stated in Article 9 is that “no person shall be deprived of life or liberty, save in accordance with law.” Article 10 further guarantees that no person shall be arrested and detained for a period of over 24 hours without being produced before a magistrate.

Dr Afia Siddiqui has been denied these fundamental rights and so have hundreds of others who have been missing for years. How do our rulers sleep at night when they reign over a state that treats its own in the fashion that we have treated Afia Siddiqui and other missing persons? In face of such disgrace and illegality being perpetrated by the executive, can the judiciary pursue a conscientious course of action other than that being followed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhary—i.e., to require law enforcement agencies to account for disappeared citizens and plug their trafficking? The people of Pakistan and the PPP-led government must do all they can to highlight the atrocities that have been committed against Afia Siddiqui and provide her all the assistance she needs in defending herself against fabricated US charges – right out of a badly scripted movie.

But Dr Siddiqui’s life, liberty and dignity would not have been at the mercy of the US had she not been wronged by the Musharraf regime in the first place. There is no point directing all our ire against the Yanks when it is actually our saviours at home who are culpable in the first resort. Did Chaudhary Pervaiz Elahi feel no shame while shedding crocodile tears in the Parliament over the treatment being meted out to Afia Siddiqui, despite the fact that she was kidnapped and hauled to Afghanistan under his government’s watch. Instead of passing hollow resolutions against the US to reclaim the nation’s honour, the parliament should (a) order an inquiry into the kidnapping of Afia Siddiqui, (b) ensure that all other missing persons are accounted for immediately, and © include in the charge-sheet against the General his admission of carting individuals to the US in utter disregard of our legal and constitutional provisions.

Email: sattar@post.harvard.edu

[pakistanzindabaad]

http://www.dawn.com/2008/08/16/top14.htm

Attorney mum on Aafia’s children whereabouts

By Masood Haider

NEW YORK, Aug 15: Elizabeth Fink, the attorney for Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani woman charged by the US authorities with trying to kill US soldiers in Afghanistan, says that Aafia was tortured but keeps quiet on the whereabouts her children.

“The woman has been tortured,” Ms Fink said. “I believed she has been tortured based on my experience with people with post-traumatic stress disorder.”

On the crucial question about the whereabouts of Ms Siddiqui’s three children whose custody is being sought by Pakistani authorities, Ms Fink refused to comment suggesting that some issues could not be shared with the press.

When Pakistani consular officers met Ms Siddiqui last Saturday another defence attorney, Gideon Oliver, asked Ms Siddiqui not to speak about her children.

Later talking to Dawn he confirmed that he had stopped Ms Siddiqui from revealing any information about her children to Pakistani authorities.

Pakistan’s Deputy Consul General Saqib Rauf also said that Ms Siddiqui wanted to speak about her children but was restrained under advice of her counsel. “She kept on asking after the welfare of her mother and wanted to know about the political conditions in the country”, he said.

[Salim]

http://www.dawn.com/2008/08/16/top14.htm

Attorney mum on Aafia’s children whereabouts

By Masood Haider

NEW YORK, Aug 15: Elizabeth Fink, the attorney for Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani woman charged by the US authorities with trying to kill US soldiers in Afghanistan, says that Aafia was tortured but keeps quiet on the whereabouts her children.

“The woman has been tortured,” Ms Fink said. “I believed she has been tortured based on my experience with people with post-traumatic stress disorder.”

On the crucial question about the whereabouts of Ms Siddiqui’s three children whose custody is being sought by Pakistani authorities, Ms Fink refused to comment suggesting that some issues could not be shared with the press.

When Pakistani consular officers met Ms Siddiqui last Saturday another defence attorney, Gideon Oliver, asked Ms Siddiqui not to speak about her children.Later talking to Dawn he confirmed that he had stopped Ms Siddiqui from revealing any information about her children to Pakistani authorities.

Pakistan’s Deputy Consul General Saqib Rauf also said that Ms Siddiqui wanted to speak about her children but was restrained under advice of her counsel. “She kept on asking after the welfare of her mother and wanted to know about the political conditions in the country”, he said.

Above news clears a lot of mystery regarding Aafia disappearance. There are three claims: American claims that she went to Afghanistan with her kids to help Al-Q and Taliban, where she was living since last 4 years and got arrested recently. Pakistani government always claimed that they do not know anything about her. Pro-Taliban Liars and propagandist claim that she was kidnapped by Pakistani authority in Karachi and then handed over to Americans.

Now, news that she is asked about whereabouts of her kids and she decline to tell, plus her attorney advising her not to tell, shows that her kidnapping by Pakistani intelligence authority or being in custody of Americans intelligence authorities since she disappeared was all propaganda by pro-Taliban Liars. Reason is simple:

First of all, news of her kidnap with her kids was suspicious anyhow, as government intelligence officials would never have kidnapped her kids along with her and kept them. Anyhow, propaganda by Pro-Taliban Liars put some shroud over this assumptions, as some started thinking that however unlikely, this might have happened, that kids got kidnapped with her (and thus American as well as Pakistani authorities have started learning how to become Nanny of kids and taken jobs no intelligence authority does).

But from the news it is obvious that most likely intelligence authorities (of both Pakistan and America) do not know the whereabouts of her kids but she knows. It is also obvious from the news that though she is worried about her mother and political situation in Pakistan, she is not worried about her kids, showing clearly that she believes her kids are in good hands and safe. Thus, from the news it is obvious that all the time before she got arrested by Americans, she was with her kids and safe. Even now she believes that her kids are safe wherever they may be (as she is more worried about her mother and politics in Pakistan, but not about her kids).

If she was kidnapped from Karachi with her kids than she would not have known about kids and kids would have been with Pakistani intelligence authority or American authority. In such situation, once she was in open talking to media, first thing she would have shown was concern about her kids and finding the whereabouts of her kids. (Even if kids were with her while she was in custody, they are not with her now. If they were with intelligence authority than if they had brought her in open, kids would have been in open too. If they are not, than she would have shown more worries about her kids).

If kids were with intelligence authority, Ms Fink (who is looking after her interest) and her attorney ... none of the two would have given such statements what they gave.  Similarly, her council would not have told her to restrain herself when she wanted to speak about her kids.’ Wanting to speak about her kids’ shows that she know whereabouts of her kids. It is obvious that if Aafia knows the whereabouts of her kids, as it can be seen from the News and that she is unwilling to tell anyone about their whereabouts, than it is certain that she was not kidnapped from Pakistan but it is propaganda of pro-Taliban Liar elements, Liars in Pakistani politics and Liars in media doing propaganda.

[Well, if the news is correct, than that is what I can conclude in obvious way from the above news.  I do not see any other reason why she would be keeping quiet about her kids if she was kidnapped and kids were with intelligence authorities. Ms Fink, her attorney, and council ... all trying to keep shroud over Kids question confirms my assumptions. If anyone believes differently and do not agree with me, than please give their thought with logical reasons].

[pakistanzindabaad]

Bravo Salim bhayi...

Your powers of jumping from tangent to tangent are absolutely amazing...

Her children have either been

A: Sold on the markets of afghanistan (Where she was kept)
B: Put up for adoption by the US
C: Put up for adoption by Pakistan

You're conveniently forgetting that her mother and family has infact been raising hell since 2003 that she is missing... If you take the time to read the article I posted; you will find that NBC or ABC admitted that they had captured Afia Siddiqui in 2003... That was in 2003...

Do you have a degree in obscurantism?? Amazing... Koi banda itna damaghi tor per naturally stunted nahin ho sakta...

If you know anything about law in the US; you will know that lawyers usually advise people to not talk to the media when the public mood is against you...

The lawyer wants ensure that the US doesn't put "legal" hindrances in their custody hearings...

Edited by pakistanzindabaad, 16 August 2008 - 10:08 AM.

[Jahan]

You saying I'm losing it, and here you're doing selective reading, what are you going on about?

Exactly my question to you.

Where did I ever say "Hell yeah over you I do"?
You're quoting what I didn't even say, and earlier it was that 'I said media had agenda against Pakistan', are you alright bud?
You are losing credibility now, seriously!

"Hell yeah over you I do" was a joke. It was my way of making light an issue to avoid turning this into exactly what it has become.

I do not want to argue with you.

Mainly because we are talking along two totally different tangents. At this point, I have utterly lost your meaning. Just as you have utterly lost mine.

If you want to quote media, go right ahead.

[Felicius]

Exactly my question to you.

I'm not the one quoting you wrongly.
You querried about the Dawn News I gave you the direction.
I'm not the one who said the that the media has an agenda to break-up Pakistan, you did, and tried to make everyone else believe that I said it.
Arsalan, that was sinister.

None of us really lost each other.
You said "condemn it in the name of humanity"
To which I said that I do agree with PZ, that we sould have handled her case [and not sent her packing away].
As far as her guilt goes, I said I'd rather believe the media over you.

You're trying to lie and deceive, malign me, because I don't agree with you.

[Jahan]

I'm not the one quoting you wrongly.

It was a joke. A humorous paraphraisal. It didn't mean that's exactly word-for-word what you said. Go read the rest of my post:

So I say, well that's a pity. You'd believe an anti-Pakistan media over me, and I'm spouting the same stuff that the crazy Pakistanis are saying, that Dr Afia Siddiqui is innocent, that everything about her case reeks of illegality.

I didn't word-for-word say "I'm spouting the same stuff that the crazy Pakistanis are saying." It was an implication, comedy, a pun, a joke, an attempt at humour (ad infinitum). Jeeeeezzz.

You querried about the Dawn News I gave you the direction.
ll pick the media anytime.
Arsalan, that was sinister.

You said, did you not, you'd believe the media over me? This after I asked you: "Do you always believe the media," after your post 176:

1. she had bomb making diagrams/plans
2. she had saved emails from sleeper cells on USB
3. when approached, she opened fire on US troops

She wasn't just pulled over in some nakabandi and taken into custody, but a gun battle ensued prior to her arrest.

To my knowledge, the Pakistani media has vehemently maintained Dr Afia's innocence. The only media that has suggested the above (i.e. the accusations regarding the bombs, sleeper cells, opening fire etc) is the Western media. Even her lawyer maintains that point number 3 in your post is bull.

What conclusion do I draw? Let me write it for you, since you are obviously very, very keen on getting the last word in.

1) Shehz posts a list of accusations against Dr Afia.
2) SurvivoR comes along and asks Shehz if he's in his senses - that Dr Afia is innocent etc etc etc.
3) Shehz says he is in his senses thank you very much, and that he was just quoting the media.
4) Which media is it that maintains Dr Afia's guilt? For the most part, the Western media.
5) Thus, Arslan asks Shehz, "do you always believe the media?" The direct question being, do you always believe the Western media (the only media that has effectively tried to label her as a terrorist)?
6) Shehz says, over you [Arslan] I do, his exact words being: "ll pick the media anytime." (Are you happy now?)

Sooooo, Shehz would pick the media anytime - the Western media is clearly very, very anti-Pakistani. So Arslan says, "Same media you criticise as being anti-Pakistani and working on an agenda which ultimately seeks Pakistan's destruction?"

The "you" was a generic "you" Shehz. We all of us believe the Western/American media has an anti-Pakistani agenda. This is what I mean. You didn't get what I said. I misunderstood you. Why are you continuing on with this discussion?

Carrying on, Arslan wonders why Shehz would choose to believe an anti-Pakistani Western media over him, whose love for his nation no will doubt is sincere and genuine. And I post (number 188):

"No one here will dispute that my niat and love for my nation are sincere. Everyone will agree that the Western media is anti-Pakistani."

None of us really lost each other.

We did, big time.

You said "condemn it in the name of humanity"
To which I said that I do agree with PZ, that we sould have handled her case [and not sent her packing away].

The two are very different.

Handling her case and condemning her mistreatment? How do you draw any parallelity?

As far as her guilt goes, I said I'd rather believe the media over you.

You're trying to lie and deceive, malign me, because I don't agree with you.

You tire me.

If you want to carry this on, PM me. I don't want to turn this thread into a bitter battle over getting the last word, or coming out with the most accusations and insults. I'll explain to you, in even greater detail, the exact places where you totally misunderstood me Free of charge.

Henceforth, I won't reply to any of this meaningless debate on a public thread. As I said PM me if you wish.

[Felicius]

Next time when you quote me, speak the truth, or click on the quote icon, things won't get messy then.

[anwar2]

This is the Ultimate shame and disgrace for pakistani nation. How on earth could ISI / agencies operatives hand over a Pakistani lady for a few dollars? Wheteher she was Al-Quaeda or plain Jane is not the issue.

American are a unique combo of extreme Brutality and extreme cowardice. What they did was expected.

Rgardless of the outcome in the American kangaroo court, the specific ISI / agencies cadres who were instrumental in this henious crime will face the wath of Allah ... to begin with, in this world. Inshallah

[Felicius]

http://dawn.com/2008/08/22/nat5.htm

August 22, 2008  Friday  Sha'aban 19, 1429

‘Dr Aafia’s children not in US custody’

By Baqir Sajjad Syed

ISLAMABAD, Aug 21: The United States has informed Pakistan that suspected Al Qaeda fixer Dr Aafia Siddiqui’s three children were not in its custody.

“On our demand that the children of Dr Aafia Siddiqui be returned to Pakistan, we have been told by the US authorities that the children are not in US custody,” Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Sadiq said at his weekly briefing on Thursday.

Pakistan had last week sent a note to the US State Department asking for immediate repatriation of the children.

The government, Mr Sadiq said, would continue to look for the children.

“There have been no indications from the US about the possible whereabouts of the children,” the spokesman said.

The Foreign Office, he said, was seeking consular access for the visiting parliamentarians and other officials from Pakistan.

It has been misreported by the media that Dr Aafia is a Ph.D in biosciences or neurology, the correct position is she is an educationist with a Ph.D from the Brandeis University in Boston. He said that her education in no way could have enabled her to engage in chemical or biological warfare.

[pakistanzindabaad]

A number of videos regarding Aafia Siddiqui



Initial Questioning?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23yT7soyV48

ABCs Press Coverage

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJ6WuzX79Ps...feature=related

Fox News Press Coverage

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBrh9zMoXQw...feature=related

Another Fox News Press Coverage

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXP4kLGb1fo...feature=related



Notice the differences???

Heres another version

NTDTV

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D46FybYC62Y...feature=related

Al Jazeera Press Coverage

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMcJr0NbzNA...feature=related

Yvonne Ridley's Speech

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2d4iraPpDG0...feature=related

TVOne

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7S842RFU-M...feature=related

[pakistanzindabaad]

Holy hell... Will wonders never cease... Altaf bhayi koi kaam theek kia...


http://www.thenews.com.pk/updates.asp?id=52980

Altaf asks US to repatriate Dr. Afia to Pakistan
   Updated at: 2245 PST, Saturday, August 23, 2008  
   LONDON: Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Chief, Altaf Hussain Saturday demanded of the US to repatriate Dr. Afia Siddiqui to Pakistan.

Altaf Hussain, in a statement issued from MQM Secretariat here, asserted that Dr. Afia Siddiqui is a Pakistan national therefore the government of Pakistan should investigate into the allegations against Dr. Siddiqui.

[pakistanzindabaad]

http://thenews.com.pk/updates.asp?id=53405

Pakistan takes up issue of Aafia’s deteriorating health with US
   Updated at: 0745 PST, Thursday, August 28, 2008  
   WASHINGTON: The Pakistani Embassy in Washington has conveyed its concern to the United States on the media reports about detained Pakistani neuroscientist Ms. Aafia Siddiqui’s worsening health condition in the detention centre and provision of inadequate medical care.

Under instructions of Ambassador Husain Haqqani, the embassy has once again asked the US government to hand over the custody of her three children to Pakistan in case they are in the U.S. custody.

Dr Aafia Siddiqui, a 36-year old Pakistani citizen is in a detention center in New York, where she is facing charges of attempted attack on U.S. officials while in custody in Afghanistan.

She is suffering from bullet wounds and on Tuesday her lawyer made a fervent plea to U.S. authorities to immediately shift her client to a hospital in view of her deteriorating state of health.

According to an embassy official, the US government has further been urged that necessary steps be taken for her immediate transfer to a hospital for proper medical treatment and stopping the humiliating body searches of the detainee before and after visits of her lawyers and the embassy officials.

Ms Siddiqui’s condition has significantly deteriorated since August four when she was brought to New York, her lawyer Elizabeth Fink told a press conference.

[pakistanzindabaad]

http://thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=16899

Dr Aafia’s son in Karzai government custody: US

Friday, August 29, 2008

By Mariana Baabar

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has approached the government of Afghanistan to hand over the eldest, eleven-year-old son of the missing Pakistani scientist Dr Aafia Siddiqui, who according to the US authorities, is in the custody of the Karzai government.

The request was made about two days ago but so far there has been no response from Kabul. Diplomatic sources that are following this bizarre case told The News that according to the US authorities that are in touch with Islamabad, the Americans have taken a "nuclear DNA sample" from the youngster and matched it with Dr Aafia Siddiqui's claiming that he is indeed her son.

Recently, the lawyers for Dr Siddiqui received a letter from the US Justice Department saying that when the young boy was questioned he told them that he belonged to Azad Kashmir and had lost both his parents in the massive earthquake two years ago. He then, according to the US authorities, claims that he made his way into Afghanistan.

"However, when the family of Dr Siddiqui saw the photograph of the young boy, they immediately recognized him and said that he was Aafia's son", maintain sources. It may be mentioned that Islamabad was alerted that something was amiss when the photograph of Aafia was removed from the most wanted site of the FBI immediately after her arrest.

"The Pakistan government was alerted that something had happened that Aafia's photograph was no longer there", the sources maintained.

According to the US authorities, Aafia was first picked up by the Ghazni police on July 17, was put in the US custody on July 18 and her photograph went missing from the FBI site on July 20. "We were wondering what had happened," says a senior official.

[haroons222]

Yaar lanat hai,aisay aisay bayghairat aur bayhaya log yahan per forum mein mojud hein jo extreme Dheetai aur baysharmi say aik indefenceble cheez ko defend ker rahay hein. Aur there justification to defend a haramzada is to point out a bigger haramzaada.

Different age mein inko different namoon say jana gaya, yazeed, mir jafar, aur aabb..........

sorry if i sound extremely crude, i just cant hold  back my anger and frustration with these dirtbags...

btw, some sources have suggessted a beneficiary of this case.
http://www.teeth.com.pk/blog/2008/08/11/ru...bilal-musharraf

I dont know if its true, but u never know.Pakistanis have been known to fall to such lows(sadly).

Things dont add up,it just doesnt make sense. If they had proof against her terrorist activites, the simple course of action would be to formally charge her and send her to gitmo or watever. This secrecy points to just one thing, they did not have enuf evidence and proof to brig her in...
So, what they did was transfer her to afghanistan so they cud torture her to give up whatever information she supposedly had.
Why they broke the news im not sure, most probably because a few ppl who were released had raised the alarm bells.

For one sec, lets say she was guilty, why mistreat her children, keeping them away from their family. Did the youngest one die???coz no one seems to know where it is. Who should be charged for murder?
look at her ,shes probably resembles most of us, or our sister.Educated, progressive yet religious Pakistani girl from a middle class family...

[asal-main]

This is the Ultimate shame and disgrace for pakistani nation. How on earth could ISI / agencies operatives hand over a Pakistani lady for a few dollars? Wheteher she was Al-Quaeda or plain Jane is not the issue.

American are a unique combo of extreme Brutality and extreme cowardice. What they did was expected.

Rgardless of the outcome in the American kangaroo court, the specific ISI / agencies cadres who were instrumental in this henious crime will face the wath of Allah ... to begin with, in this world. Inshallah

Get angry when govt abuse happens, but also when terrorism happens. There is enough proof of terrorist ideology in Pakistan. Whatever US does is not justification for terrorist kind of behavior. They are not after US only, they want to kill Muslims and Pakistanis for their twisted agenda.  Better to face reality.
She was arrested in Afghanistan in July for some reason. Her minor son was detained with her too. Dont tell me governments are selling and buying kids for money. No use lying about such things. Even the most notorious leading terrorist families were not detained or "sold". Her son will be released soon by Afghan govt and sent to Pakistan.

[asal-main]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080830/wl_st...en_080830130549

KABUL (AFP) - The young son of Pakistani scientist Aafia Siddiqui will be returned to his family "soon" by Afghanistan after he was arrested with her more than a month ago, Foreign Minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta said Saturday.

Ahmed Siddiqui, 11, was captured in the central province of Ghazni on July 17 with his mother who was suspected to be planning a suicide attack. She was later accused of trying to kill US officials and is on trial in New York.
"We'll hand the child over to his family very soon," Spanta told reporters, without giving details.

The boy is being held by the attorney general's office in Kabul, government officials told AFP, also refusing to comment further.

New York-based Human Rights Watch this week urged the Afghan government to free the child, a US citizen.

The arrest of Aafia Siddique, on a 2004 US list of suspects with links to Al-Qaeda, was the first time in five years she had been seen publicly.

Her family and lawyers allege she had been held captive since disappearing -- possibly in a secret US or allied prison. US officials have denied the charge.

[pakistanzindabaad]

The details of her case are not yet sifted out...

As far as we know; she is in critical condition in the US...

When a public trial does begin; dekhtey hain kia kuch saamnay ata hay...

She was arrested in Afghanistan in July for some reason.

That is govt's contention... Her family has listed her as a missing person since the time of her abduction in 2003... dekhtey hain...

[asal-main]

so what do you think was the reason they arrested her?  
and why would they keep it a secret for five years?

[pakistanzindabaad]

Her husband is KSM's nephew...

[pakistanzindabaad]

http://www.dailymuslims.com/Opinion/Column..._of_Bagram.html

Prisoner 650 – The Grey Lady of Bagram

THE FBI lost much of its credibility when its chief J Edgar Hoover was revealed to be a transvestite who preferred to be called Mary.

Hoover, probably the most powerful men in America some say even more powerful then the presidents he served under, was the originator of dirty tricks campaign and kept a lot of dirt on other people in his files.

The only players who were immune to Hoover's secret files were those who had secrets of their own about his personal life - namely, the Mafia. Mafia bosses obtained information about Hoover's sex life and used it for decades to keep the FBI at bay. Without this, the Mafia as we know it might never have gained its hold in America.

In May of 1972, Hoover - approaching his fifty-five-year anniversary with the Justice Department - boasted that the FBI remained the organization that he built upon his own principles and standards – of course now we know exactly what standards Hoover aka Mary had.

The FBI never really recovered its power or prestige once Hoover was outed as a cross=2 0dresser. There was more scandal to follow when Acting Director L. Patrick Gray was forced to resign after being caught up in the Watergate drama which brought down President Richard Nixon aka Tricky Dicky.

The FBI is supposed to be an institute based around freedom and democracy, instead it has become a factory from which lies and deceit are manufactured.

The reason for this brief history lesson in to the FBI will now become apparent.

You see it is quite obvious that from cross dressers, liars and fraudsters, the FBI has now moved into the realms of fantasy land with the news that Dr Aafia Siddique has "conveniently" been found outside a governor's office in Afghanistan with her 12 year old son ... FIVE years after her disappearance in Karachi.

According to the FBI she was in possession of "numerous documents describing the creation of explosives, as well as excerpts from the Anarchist's Arsenal, descriptions of various landmarks in the United States, including in New York City" - you know, all the regular stuff a female terrorist would carry in her handbag!

The fantastists who concocted this story may as well have put Dr Siddique in Hoover's old red dress while they were on with it.

What we do know is that she has been shot at and injured. She was extradited to New York last night and is being held in a prison in Manhatten down the road from the night club where Hoover used to pose as Mary.

She faces charges of attempted murder and assault of a US officer. Does the FBI really think we are all that stupid and gullible?

Dr Aafia Siddiqui - who had been sought by the FBI for several years regarding terrorism according to their website – is accused of shooting at two FBI special agents, a US Army warrant officer, an Army captain and military interpreters who unknowingly entered a room where she was being held unsecured.

She fired two shots, but hit no one, officials said. The warrant officer returned fire with a pistol, shooting Siddiqui at least once. She struggled with the officers before she lost consciousness, said officials, adding that she received medical attention.

The day before the shootings, Afghan police had arrested Siddiqui outside the Ghazni governor's compound after finding bomb-making instructions, excerpts from the "Anarchist's Arsenal," papers with descriptions of U.S. landmarks and substances sealed in bottles and glass jars.

This all happened two weeks after I had given a press conference in Islamabad calling on the US to handover Prisoner 650 – The Grey lady of Bagram?

Coincidence? May be – but if the FBI think that we are going to buy the bovine scatterings they've just released to the US media they really do live in La La Land.

Let's look at the cold hard fact of the case.

Dr Siddiqui, 36, is an American-educated neuroscientist. Since 2003, Siddiqui's whereabouts have been the source of much speculation. According to Amnesty International, Siddiqui and her three small children were reported apprehended in Karachi, Pakistan, in March 2003 after the FBI issued at alert requesting information about her location earlier that month.

Several reports indicated Siddiqui was in US custody after her arrest in Karachi. But in May 2004 then-Attorney General Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller identified Siddiqui among several sought-after al Qaeda members.

Human rights group and a lawyer for Ms. Siddiqui, Elaine Whitfield Sharp, say they believe that she has been secretly detained since 2003, for much of that time at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.

“We believe Aafia has been in custody ever since she disappeared,” Ms. Sharp said in a telephone interview yesterday, “and we’re not willing to believe that the discovery of Aafia in Afghanistan is coincidence.”

American military and intelligence officials said that Ms. Siddiqui was in Pakistan for most of the past five years until she resurfaced last month and was captured by the Afghans.

She and her 12-year-old son were arrested in Ghazni, Afghanistan, on July 17. The American officials accused Ms Siddiqui trying to bomb the residence of Ghazni’s provincial governor.

Someone who also does not buy this nonsense is Asim Qureshi, Senior Researcher for the British-based international human rights organisation Cageprisoners.

He has issued the following statement: "There are many questions that the FBI and the Pakistani government need to answer in light of this admission. Why have the FBI continued to pretend to be seeking her while all the while knowing of her detention in Afghanistan? Is Aafia indeed Prisoner 650 whose screams was heard by former Bagram prisoners?

"Aafia Siddiqui is a woman who has been plagued by a number of problems in her life, none of which have anything to do with involvement with Al Qaeda. During the years the US claim she was working as an operative for the organisation, she was in fact the victim of domestic violence at the hands of an abusive husband. Community members in Boston declare that she was incapable of any violence, let alone being involved with a terrorist group.

"Whilst we welcome this disclosure from the FBI, it has only come after mounting international pressure, and five years of detention and abuse. Siddiqui’s case represents the problem of disappearances in Pakistan in the most tragic way. The acceptance by the FBI that Siddiqui has been in custody in Afghanistan raises important questions which must be answered by the Pakistani and US governments. Siddiqui must be returned to Pakistan in order to faces charges for any crime she may have committed or released along with her children."

Cageprisoners has led the campaign for Aafia Siddiqui for the past three years. Since her disappearance in March 2003 in Karachi, along with her three young children, the FBI has continually denied reports of her detention and that she was in their custody.

I am proud to be a patron of Cage Prisoners. Less than two weeks before this fiasco emerged I travelled to Pakistan with Cageprisoners Director, Saghir Hussain, to launch their report, Devoid of the Rule of the Law, at a press conference organised by Imran Khan.

The press conference sparked an international storm of outrage, when I asked my colleagues in the Pakistan media to put pressure on the US to identify Prisoner 650 and the release of Aafia Siddiqui.

I personally spoke with Lt Col Mark Wright at the US Pentagon who denied all knowledge of Prisoner 650 or Dr Aafia Siddique.

Now I don't believe for one minute Lt Col Mark Wright was lying – in fact I did suggest to him that the people he was speaking to in Afghanistan (the FBI) might be lying to him. I did ask him to call me back when he had the facts.



Perhaps Lieutenant Colonel Wright you might want to make that call now and tell me the truth about Dr Siddique and Prisoner 650 ... but whatever you do mate, don't get your facts from the FBI which stands for Fantasy Brigade International ... and that's just the polite version.

Yvonne Ridley is a British renowned journalist, captured by the Taliban in Afghanistan, while on assignment with the London’s Sunday Express in 2001. She subsequently converted to Islam and now works for the Iranian-based 24-hour English language news channel Press TV, where she fronts her own London-based current affairs show, The Agenda. She was a regular contributor and columnist of defunct Muslims Weekly-New York, the parent newspaper of DailyMuslims.com. She continues her column for DailyMuslims.com.

[zainabia]

Latest 2 News about lady Dr. Afia Siddiqui:

                                                                                                 

امریکی عدالت نے ڈاکٹر عافیہ صدیقی پر فرد جرم عائد کردی

                                    

                                                                                                                      Updated at 06:00 PST                                                                             نیویارک  .. . . . .. . . امریکی عدالت نے ڈاکٹر عافیہ صدیقی پر القاعدہ کے رکن کی  حیثیت سے دہشت گردی اور امریکی فوجیوں پر حملے کی باقاعدہ فرد جرم عائد  کردی ہے۔امریکی عدالت کی طرف سے جاری کردہ بیان میں بتایا گیا ہے کہ ڈاکٹر  عافیہ پر بیرون ملک امریکیوں کو قتل کی کوشش ،امریکی افسران اور ملازمین  کے قتل ،امریکی افسران اور ملازمین پر مسلح حملے ،دہشت گردی اور بندوق  رکھنے کے الزامات لگائے گئے ہیں ۔ بیان کے مطابق اگر ڈاکٹر عافیہ صدیقی پر  الزامات ثابت ہوگئے تو انھیں ہر قتل پر کم از کم بیس سا ل قید،مسلح حملے  اوربندوق رکھنے کے الزام میں عمر قید اور دیگرالزامات میں آٹھ سال تک قید  کی سزاہوسکتی ہے ۔ امریکی حکام کا کہنا ہے کہ عافیہ صدیقی القاعدہ کے  متعلق معلومات کا خزانہ ہیں۔ حکام کے مطابق عافیہ صدیقی کے پاس سے  کمپیوٹرکی چھوٹی ڈیوائس بھی برآمد ہوئی جس میں اہم معلومات موجود تھیں  ،جبکہ ان کے پاس ہاتھ سے لکھے ہوئے نوٹس موجود تھے جن میں امریکا اور  برطانیہ کے اہم مقامات پر بڑے پیمانے پر حملے کرنے کے طریقے درج تھے۔ڈاکٹر  عافیہ صدیقی کے وکلا نے فرد جرم کو مسترد کر تے ہوئے کہا ہے کہ تمام  الزامات فرضی ہیں اور عافیہ صدیقی کو امریکا منتقل کرنے کے لئے گھڑے گئے  ہیں۔ڈاکٹر عافیہ صدیقی دو ہزار تین میں کراچی سے لاپتہ ہو گئیں تھیں تاہم  ایک برطانوی صحافی کی اس رپورٹ کے بعد کہ عافیہ صدیقی افغانستان کی بگرام  جیل میں قیدہے۔افغان حکام نے عافیہ صدیقی کی گرفتاری ظاہر کر دی۔ افغان  پولیس نے موقف اختیا ر کیا کہ عافیہ صدیقی کو اس وقت حراست میں لیا گیا جب  وہ افغان صوبے غزنی کے گورنر پر خود کش حملے کی تیاری کررہی تھیں،اس کے  بعد عافیہ صدیقی کو امریکا منتقل کر دیا گیا ،جہاں ان پر مقدمہ چلانے کی  تیاریاں کی جارہی ہیں ۔

                                                                                                 

حکومت پاکستان نے عافیہ کے بچوں کی شہریت سے انکار کردیا،فوزیہ صدیقی

                                    

                                                                                                                      Updated at 1030 PST                                                                            کراچی............پاکستان  نے ڈاکٹر عافیہ صدیقی کے بچوں کو پاکستانی شہری تسلیم کر نے اور افغان  حکومت سے لے کر پاکستان میں اہل خانہ کے حوالے کرنے سے انکار  کردیاہے۔ڈاکٹر عافیہ کی بہن ڈاکٹر فوزیہ صدیقی نے جیو نیوز کو بتایا کہ ان  کی فیملی نے امریکی عدالت میں بچوں کی تحویل سے متعلق مقدمہ دائر کر  رکھاہے اور ان کی وکیل نے انہیں بتایا ہے کہ امریکی اسٹیٹ ڈیپارٹمنٹ نے  عدالت کو اس بات سے آگاہ کیا ہے کہ حکومت پاکستان ڈاکٹر عافیہ کے بچوں کو  پاکستانی تسلیم نہیں کرتی اور وہ انہیں افغان حکومت سے لیکر ہمارے خاندان  کے حوالے نہیں کرنا چاہتی ہے۔ ڈاکٹر فوزیہ کے مطابق اسٹیٹ ڈپارٹمنٹ کی  جانب سے امریکا میں ان کے بھائی محمد علی صدیقی کو ایک خط بھی لکھا گیا ہے  جس میں کہا گیا ہے کہ وہ امریکی عدالت میں بچوں کی تحویل سے متعلق مقدمے  میں دو ہفتے سے زائد عرصے سے پیش نہیں ہوئے ہیں اس لئے اب ڈاکٹر عافیہ کے  بچوں کو ان کے حوالے نہیں کیا جائے گا اور وہ امریکا میں ہی رہیں گے،  ڈاکٹر فوزیہ کے مطابق امریکی عدالت میں بچوں کی تحویل سے متعلق مقدمے میں  سرگرمی نہ دکھانے کی وجہ پاکستانی حکومت کی ان یقین دہانیوں کو تسلیم کر  لینا تھا جن میں کہا گیا تھا کہ حکومت ڈاکٹر عافیہ کے بچوں کی ملک واپسی  کیلئے اقدامات کر رہی ہے۔

[pakistanzindabaad]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...l?nav=rss_world

Pakistani Tortured, Her Attorney Says

By Carol D. Leonnig
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, September 5, 2008; Page A04

NEW YORK, Sept. 4 -- The attorney for an American-trained behavioral scientist charged with trying to kill U.S. personnel in July said in court Thursday that she believes that her client was imprisoned and tortured for several years before the incident and now could be mentally incompetent.

Lawyer Elizabeth Fink told a federal judge in New York that Aafia Siddiqui, who disappeared in Pakistan with her three children in March 2003, needs a full psychological evaluation to determine whether she has post-traumatic stress disorder and is competent to help in her own defense. Fink also urged that Siddiqui, 36, be examined by experts on the effects of torture.

According to the government, which previously labeled her an al-Qaeda operative, Siddiqui surfaced July 17 with her eldest son, now 11, in an Afghanistan province after a five-year absence. The two were arrested by Afghan police, who said they received an anonymous tip that Siddiqui and her son were planning suicide bombings.

The next day, when a team of U.S. Army and FBI officials came to interview her, Siddiqui grabbed a team member's M-4 rifle and shot at the group, prosecutors said. She was wounded when one of the Americans returned fire.

Now in U.S. custody in New York, Siddiqui faces a possible life sentence if convicted of attempted murder and firearms charges. She does not currently face any charges related to terrorism, though U.S. authorities have claimed since 2004 that she was a facilitator for top al-Qaeda figures and linked her to Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the professed mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Siddiqui did not appear in court for Thursday's arraignment. Her lawyer said that because of serious abdominal wounds, Siddiqui has refused to submit to a painful strip search that is required before she can leave federal prison. Federal prosecutor David Raskin told U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman that prison staff must impose appropriate security measures on Siddiqui.
ad_icon

But Fink asserted that Siddiqui shows signs of having been imprisoned and treated inhumanely for a long period of time.

"She's on the borderline," Fink said. "I believe this woman was kidnapped with her children and she's been held in custody -- either the Pakistani intelligence officials or some arm of our government. . . . I believe she was released in July and set up for this confrontation."

According to documents described in court by Fink, Siddiqui told prison staff that she feared her son was being starved and tortured, and asked them to take food off her tray and send it to her son in Afghanistan.

Siddiqui's son is a U.S. citizen but remains in the custody of Afghan authorities. An Afghan Foreign Ministry official said Wednesday that he will be released shortly, probably to Siddiqui's sister.

Fink read in court a portion of a Bureau of Prisons (BOP) evaluation of Siddiqui's behavior, which includes constant crying in her cell.

"Although her concerns about [her son] being starved and tortured sound somewhat paranoid on the surface, it is also possible that they represent an accurate portrayal of Ms. Siddiqui's experiences with detainment prior to arrival into BOP custody," a prison psychologist wrote. "Furthermore, Ms. Siddiqui's history of exposure to traumatic events is unknown. Therefore, PTSD and other acute Axis I disorders cannot be ruled out."

Siddiqui disappeared outside her parents' home in Karachi in late March 2003, weeks after the FBI sent out a global alert indicating that it was seeking to question her. The U.S. government has alleged that she had ties to major al-Qaeda figures, and later asserted that she helped open post office boxes and provide travel documents for terrorist plotters and had knowledge of chemical and biological weapons.

But friends and relatives say those claims do not fit with what they know about Siddiqui, who lived in the United States for 12 years, started a family here and did graduate work in social sciences at MIT and Brandeis. Her doctoral thesis explored how children learn.

Her disappearance -- and activists' claims that she was detained by Pakistani authorities and interrogated for a time by the CIA -- have sparked protests in Pakistan against the administration of former president Pervez Musharraf. The Justice Department and the CIA have said they knew nothing about Siddiqui's whereabouts before her arrest in July.

Correspondent Candace Rondeaux in Islamabad, Pakistan, and staff researcher Julie Tate in Washington contributed to this report.

[pakistanzindabaad]

http://thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=17182

Extradition of Dr Afia demanded, IHC told

Thursday, September 11, 2008

By Faisal Kamal Pasha

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) chief justice here on Wednesday, while directing Barrister Iqbal Jafri to nominate the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as respondent in the case of missing Dr Afia Siddiqui, asked the ministry to submit its reply within two weeks.

On the last hearing of the case on Tuesday (September 9), the IHC chief justice had directed the Ministry of Interior to submit its reply, which was submitted later the same day. It stated, "The matter being sensitive needs a thorough probe, that too involving the embassies of Afghanistan and US and for this purpose, Ministry of Foreign Affairs has to be involved."

Joint Secretary Ministry of Interior Shahidullah Baig on Wednesday appeared before the court and reiterated the version previously submitted by his ministry, saying that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs be involved in this case.

Barrister Syed Muhammad Iqbal Jafri of Salarpur had filed the writ petition under allegations of habeas corpus, nominating the state as respondent, through the interior ministry secretary for the release of Dr Afia Siddiqui. The petitioner has alleged the government of Pakistan for kidnapping Dr Afia and later handing her over to the American government.

"We are in contact with the American State Department regarding the release of Dr Afia and we have asked them to depute a doctor for the lady's treatment. The American government has ensured us to depute a doctor for the treatment of Dr Afia," the interior ministry further states in its reply.

NNI Adds: Pakistan summoned a senior US diplomat to Foreign Ministry over the detention of Dr Aafia Siddiqui and demanded her repatriation, Islamabad High Court was informed on Wednesday. The government conveyed concern to the US political counsellor and also sought repatriation of Dr Afia's children.

[pakistanzindabaad]

http://www.counterpunch.com/mariner09102008.html

Where Are Her Children?
The Horrendous Case of Aafia Siddiqui

By JOANNE MARINER

Everyone agrees that she's a 36-year-old mother of three young children. But while the New York Post calls her the "Al Qaeda mom," and federal prosecutors claim that when she was arrested in July she was carrying a bag packed with chemicals and handwritten notes about a "mass casualty attack," Aafia Siddiqui's lawyers say she's a victim.

"This woman has been tortured and she needs help," explained Elizabeth Fink, one of her defense counsel, at an August 11 court hearing.

Siddiqui disappeared in Pakistan in March 2003. Together with her three children - then aged 6 years, 5 years, and 6 months - she reportedly left her parents' home in Karachi to visit her uncle in Islamabad, but never arrived. Last July, more than five years later, she mysteriously reappeared in US custody in Afghanistan. Based on their interviews with her, and a pattern of similar cases, her lawyers claim that she has spent the last five years as a secret captive of Pakistani or American authorities.

Siddiqui's oldest child, Ahmed, was found with her in Afghanistan. The whereabouts of her two younger children are unknown.

Disappearance from Karachi, Reappearance in Ghazni

The name Aafia Siddiqui first came to public attention on March 18, 2003, when the FBI issued an alert requesting information about her. Siddiqui, a US-educated neuroscientist, was then living in Pakistan. The US government later alleged that Siddiqui was linked to al Qaeda suspects Majid Khan and Ali 'Abd al-'Aziz Ali (also known as Ammar al-Baluchi), and news outlets reported that she had acted as an al Qaeda fixer.

Majid Khan and Ali 'Abd al-'Aziz Ali both disappeared from Karachi at almost precisely the same time as Siddiqui did. They did not reappear until September 2006, after their transfer to Guantanamo from CIA custody. For more than three years, they had been secretly held by the CIA or one of the CIA's proxies. Like many others, they had been arrested by the Pakistani intelligence services and handed over to CIA as part of the "war on terror."

When Siddiqui disappeared, on approximately March 28, 2003, the Pakistani papers mentioned reports that she had been "picked up in Karachi by an intelligence agency" and "shifted to an unknown place for questioning." A year later, in a follow-up story, the Pakistani papers quoted a Pakistani government spokesman who said that she had been handed over to US authorities in 2003.

But unlike Khan and a number of others, Siddiqui did not reappear in US custody in 2006; nor was she heard from in 2007. It was not until July 2008, after her case had started gaining political notoriety, that she suddenly reappeared in Afghanistan.

According to the official US account, Afghan police arrested Aafia Siddiqui and her son in Ghazni, Afghanistan, on July 17, 2008. The federal indictment against Siddiqui states that the Afghan police officers who arrested her found suspicious items in her handbag, including notes referring "to the construction of 'dirty bombs,' chemical and biological weapons, and other explosives." Siddiqui's lawyers reject this account, suggesting that the charges against Siddiqui are a sham.

US federal prosecutors allege that the day after her arrest, while still in Afghan custody, she grabbed a gun from the floor and fired it at a team of US soldiers and federal intelligence agents who were visiting the Afghan police compound where she was being held. Nobody was killed in the scuffle, but Siddiqui was injured. In August, she was charged with assaulting and trying to kill US officials. She is currently in US federal custody in New York City, awaiting arraignment.

An Unlikely Story

Siddiqui's story seems improbable, no matter which version you believe. If you trust the US story, you have to imagine that Siddiqui succeeded in hiding for more than five years -- despite the intense interest of US and Pakistani intelligence services - then decided to pop up in Afghanistan with an all-purpose terrorism kit, and then, upon her arrest, decided to take advantage of a security lapse to blast away at US soldiers and FBI agents. More than the al Qaeda mom, as the New York Post dubs her, she would have to be al Qaeda's Angelina Jolie.

The claim that she was hidden away in secret detention all these years might seem equally unlikely. But when one realizes that the people she was allegedly linked to were themselves held in secret detention, and that the Pakistani intelligence services were covertly arresting dozens of people in Karachi during this period, the story gains plausibility.

Because Siddiqui's disappearance fit neatly into a larger pattern, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and several other human rights groups included Siddiqui on a 2007 list of people suspected to have been in CIA custody.

Although the US government has denied that the United States held Siddiqui during the period of her disappearance, the federal court that is hearing her case should facilitate an in-depth investigation of her lawyers' claims. The possibility that Siddiqui was held for five years in secret detention before her official arrest is not only deeply relevant to her mental state at the time of the alleged crimes, it goes to the integrity of the court's jurisdiction.

11-Year-Old Ahmed Siddiqui

Besides the question of where Siddiqui herself has been all of the years, an even more pressing question is where are her children?

To date, the whereabouts of the two youngest children - who should now be about 5 and 10 years old - are unknown. But Siddiqui's oldest son, Ahmed, an 11-year-old with American citizenship, is in Afghan custody.

According to an Afghan Interior Ministry official quoted in the Washington Post, Ahmed Siddiqui was held briefly by the Interior Ministry when he was arrested with his mother in July, and then he was transferred to the custody of the Afghan National Directorate of Security (NDS), the country's intelligence agency. The NDS is notorious for its brutal treatment of detainees.

Under Afghan and international law, Ahmed Siddiqui is too young to be treated as a criminal suspect. Under Afghanistan's Juvenile Code, the minimum age of criminal responsibility is 13. And according to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, which monitors the treatment of children globally, a minimum age of criminal responsibility below age 12 is "not ... internationally acceptable."

Human Rights Watch has called upon the Afghan authorities to release Ahmed Siddiqui to members of his biological family, who reside in Pakistan, or to a child welfare organization that can provide proper care until he is reunited with his family. As Human Rights Watch has emphasized, an 11-year-old should never have been transferred to the custody of the NDS.

"Treatment Fairly Characterized as Horrendous"

Siddiqui's lawyers say that she is a physical and psychological wreck. Her nose has reportedly been broken; she is deathly pale, and her mental state is extremely fragile. Siddiqui refused to attend her most recent court hearing, unhappy with the prospect of an invasive strip search, but at an early hearing she seemed in obvious pain.

"She is a mother of three who has been through several years of detention, whose interrogators were Americans, [and] who endured treatment fairly characterized as horrendous," said Elaine Sharp, one of Siddiqui's lawyers. As this case progresses, in the coming weeks and months, the court should ensure that the public learns the truth of these claims.

Joanne Mariner is an attorney with Human Rights Watch in New York.

[pakistanzindabaad]

http://www.dawn.com/2008/09/13/top9.htm

Aafia suffering from psychosis



By Our Correspondent


NEW YORK, Sept 12. Pakistani neuroscientist Aafia Siddiqui, incarcerated in a New York prison, was diagnosed with chronic depressive-type psychosis, according to court documents released on Thursday.

Ms Siddiqui, who is accused of attempted murder of American soldiers in Afghanistan, disappeared mysteriously in Pakistan in 2003. She is married to alleged terrorist Amar Al-Baluchi who is being held at Guantanamo Bay. She suddenly appeared in Kabul, apparently accompanied by her son.

She was examined and first diagnosed with psychosis on Sept 2 by Bureau of Prisons psychologist Dr Diane McLean, according to a letter from the warden of Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center to Judge Richard M. Berman.

Ms Siddiqui “reported depressed mood, anxiety, ruminative thoughts concerning her son’s welfare, poor sleep and moderate appetite”. The letter also describes a hallucination: “She also reported seeing her daughter in her cell, and was unable to apply appropriate reality testing to this phenomenon.”

She politely declined to receive psychotropic drugs, the letter said.

Judge Berman ordered a physical examination of Ms Siddiqui by a female doctor last week after a hearing which discussed, among other things, her refusal to meet her court-appointed lawyer Elizabeth M. Fink. She refused the physical examination on Sept 5.

On Monday, Judge Berman ordered a psychiatric examination.

According to the warden’s letter, Ms Siddiqui was re-examined on Sept 9. She was again diagnosed with depressive type psychosis, this time chronic, by Dr McLean.

She spoke through a blanket she held over her head, and speaking ‘politely’ said: “I do not want to kill myself.”

The letter said that she had undergone routine mental health check-ups 10 times in August and six times so far in September.

Elaine Whitfield Sharp, Ms Siddiqui’s Boston-area lawyer, described the diagnosis as “to be expected”. The lawyer described Ms Siddiqui as “heartbroken”, a mother separated from her children and then held in prison.

Ms Sharp told “The Tech”, a MIT newspaper, that Ms Siddiqui was having a “normal human reaction to what’s going on.

[pakistanzindabaad]

http://thenews.com.pk/updates.asp?id=55299

Dr. Aafia’s son Ahmed handed over to Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan government handed over custody of Dr. Aafia’s son Muhammad Ahmed to Pakistani authorities in Kabul here on Monday.

According to foreign ministry sources, officials of Pakistan and Afghanistan met today in Kabul after which Afghanistan’s interior ministry official Daud Panj Sheri handed over Muhmmad Ahmed to Pakistani ambassador Asif Durrani.

It may be mentioned here that US officials claimed to have arrested Dr. Aafia and her three children from Ghazni in 2003. One of the three children had already died while there was no information about her daughter whether she would be handed over to Pakistani official or not.

It is expected that Muhammad Ahmed will be sent to Pakistan by the first available flight.

[Felicius]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7616838.stm

Detainee's son handed to Pakistan  
By Syed Shoaib Hasan
BBC News, Islamabad  



Accounts differ as to how Aafia Siddiqui ended up in American custody
Afghan officials have handed over to Pakistan the son of a US-trained Pakistani academic with alleged links to al-Qaeda.

Twelve-year old Mohammed Ahmed, son of Dr Aafia Siddiqui, has been handed over to the Pakistani embassy in Kabul.

Dr Siddiqui, 36, is currently facing trial charged with attempting to kill American soldiers in Afghanistan.

But her lawyers and human rights groups say she has spent the last five years in secret US jails.


"I can confirm that Ahmed is now in our custody", Naeem Khan, a Pakistani official, told the BBC.

It was not immediately clear if the boy - who was named in documentation in Afghanistan as Ali Hassan - would be returned to his family in Pakistan.

Afghan officials produced Dr Siddiqui and her son at a press conference in Ghazni province in July.

They say the duo were arrested after being seen "loitering suspiciously" near the local US consulate.

US officials later said Dr Siddiqui had been injured during questioning.

They allege that she grabbed a rifle during an interrogation session and tried to shoot an FBI official, but was shot herself in the exchange.

Subsequently, Dr Siddiqui was moved to the New York, where she is currently under trial for the attempted murder and assault of US officials.

But international human rights organizations and Dr Siddiqui's family tell a different story.


'Told to stay quiet'

They say that Dr Siddiqui, an ex-student at the elite Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and her three children disappeared after leaving her parent's house in Karachi on 30 March, 2003.

Her two elder sons were seven and five-years old at the time, while her daughter was eight-months old.


Mohammed Ahmed - his mother's detention

In the immediate aftermath of her disappearance, Pakistan and US officials confirmed she was in their custody.

But a couple of weeks later, they denied having any knowledge of her whereabouts.

Dr Siddiqui's family have repeatedly said that she was being held by the US authorities in the Bagram air base in Afghanistan.

They said they had been visited by local and US officials who had told them to stay quiet and that Dr Siddiqui would be returned soon.

But it was only after a British journalist, Yvonne Ridley, reported about 'Prisoner 63' in Bagram airbase that international attention focused on the case.

Ms Ridley said that she believed Dr Siddiqui was the mysterious 'Prisoner 63', also known as the grey lady of Bagram, allegedly the only female prisoner held at the base.

US officials deny that any female prisoner has ever been held at Bagram airbase.

But, within a couple of weeks of the report by Ms Ridley and another one by the Asian Human Rights Commission, Dr Siddiqui and her son were found in Ghazni.


'Treasure trove of information'

Dr Siddiqui's case has since then attracted a great deal of attention in Pakistan and the United States.

In Pakistan, she is seen as the innocent victim of the country's dealings with the US in the 'war on terror'.

Her alleged confinement and treatment has greatly contributed to the anti-American feelings in Pakistan.


Aafia Siddiqui studied biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

In the United States, she is portrayed as an al-Qaeda agent who, in the words of a US official quoted in the New York Times, "has proved to be a treasure trove of information."

Dr Siddiqui is said to have been married to a nephew of Khalid Sheikh Mohammad at the time of her disappearance.

As her trial continues, calls have been raised in Pakistan to recover her children.

Mohammad Ahmed's handover is believed to be the first part of this process.

Her five-year old daughter is still believed to be in Afghan custody, while Dr Siddiqui's says her other son has died.

[pakistanzindabaad]

http://thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=17482

Afia may be unfit for trial: US prosecutor

Wednesday, September 24, 2008
NEW YORK: A US prosecutor has asked a federal judge to order a psychiatric evaluation of a Pakistani woman suspected of links to al-Qaeda who is charged with trying to kill her American interrogators in Afghanistan.

Aafia Siddiqui, 36, a US-trained neuroscientist, who was shot in the abdomen by an officer after allegedly grabbing a US soldier's gun during questioning in July, was brought to the United States to face charges of attempted murder and assault.

Siddiqui's Sept 4 arraignment at Manhattan federal court was delayed after she refused to submit to a strip search, as security procedure requiring inmates to undress and squat in front of guards.

Without the search, she cannot be brought to the court. In a letter to US District Judge Richard Berman, US Attorney Michael Garcia said that there was reason to believe Siddiqui, who has refused to cooperate with prison doctors, is suffering from a mental disease and is unfit to stand trial.

Garcia asked the court to find that "there is a reasonable cause to believe that the defendant may be suffering from a mental disease or defect rendering her incompetent to enter a plea or stand trial."

[saleemraja]

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court (IHC) has issued notice to foreign ministry on the petition seeking release of Pakistani citizen Dr Aafia Siddiqui illegally detained in US prison besides seeking explanation with regard to implementation of its March, 4 orders.

IHC chief justice Bilal Khan resumed hearing of constitutional petition filed by Mrs Siddiqui, mother of Dr Aafia Siddiqui on Wednesday. Raja Aleem Abbasi advocate appeared on behalf of state while barrister Javed Iqbal Jaffri represented the petitioner.

Barrister Jaffri submitted former chief justice of IHC Sardar Muhammad Aslam while pronouncing judgment on March, 4 had directed foreign ministry to take concrete steps for repatriation of Dr Aafia Siddiqui and contact international court of justice when need arises in this respect. However the said decision had not been implemented so far, he added.

The hearing of the case was adjourned till April, 17.

Topic: A Visit to Dr Afia's family
Displaying the only post.
Post #1Aalya wroteon October 21, 2008 at 7:56pm
By A Muslim Sister,


A blogg from a sister:


Just at a walking distance from my office is present the house of a family in terrible suffering, a family who needs the state to which they paid their taxes to ensure their safety, peaceful living and sense of living normal life like any other; a family who is now a question mark to where we all pay our taxes? The family needs well-do support from people of the state known as Islamic Republic of Pakistan, who needs attention of Ummah but are now forced to rely on only prayers. The seventh biggest army of the world and pride of Muslim Ummah has now become a real question mark to every common family who lived under and paid taxes to the state which has a leadership and system both but yet no shame and honor. Yes I am talking about the family of Dr. Afia Siddique; her name is not new for any of us. We all know what has happened to her and the terrible ordeal she along with her three innocent children have gone through.

I am not a paid writer but today I was moved and deeply touched, today I have great burden on my heart after visiting the family for a Dua (prayer gathering) that had been organized by them. I feel restless as I write this but yet I need to do something. For how long will we stay silent as our Muslim sisters are insulted and Ummah is tortured in whole? It's too late even to say now or never.

The program kicked off with a wonderful dua of uniting whole Muslims' lands under one roof of Islamic state Caliphate, then after that Dr Afia's mother started giving Dars. The face of that old, innocent mom still revolves in my eyes, Ismat Aunty as they call her: what a courageous lady. Each and every word of her echoes in my ears, her tears make me restless as she talked about her lovely daughter. Even admist such a calamity she kept thanking the Lord for having given her daughter such a high status for we all know that Allah tests whom he wishes to; He tests us too whether we sit quiet or stand up for her and many others. She kept saying that Afia now sees very pleasant dreams. She has quite often dreamt of Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (RAA) and Hazrat Ibraheem(AS). She told all present how sensitive her daughter was, she used to get her clothes made of Egyptian cotton because she was unable to wear hard cloth but now her brother saw how ruthlessly their sister is tied in shackles and chains. Tears kept coming in the eyes of all ladies that were present at the occasion; we felt guilt and a terrible pain in our hearts. We whom the Quran declares as the best of nations are silently watching our sister Afia being ruthlessly tortured.

Ismat Aunty told us that whenever the door bell of her house rings she rushes to the door saying, "Meri afia aa gayee, meri afia aa gayee!" At times her heart feels comforted when she feels the Lord is saying to her, "Why do you cry? I love her more than you and I am with her."

The tortures that Afia has gone through and is still going through are unimaginable.......her only fault was being a Muslim and this was enough for FBI to issue a whole charge sheet against the holder of 75 awards and an MIT Muslimah graduate known as Dr. Afia Siddiqui: a charge sheet full of horrible lies and absurd fairy tales. The so-called civilized leadership of USA and the place where people yearn to go to is so horrible.............her mother even told us that she recently received a phone call of an American and he said, "The Americans fear that Afia's children would be as sharp as her mother so they are thinking of making her permanently infertile."

She spoke of Asma bint Abu Bakr(RAA) who sacrificed her son for the cause of Islam, she spoke of the great martyrs from the family of the Prophet i.e. Hazrat Imam Hussain(RAA) and his supporters. I was astonished to see an old lady whose daughter has been held captive for more than 5 years now and yet she was so full of courage and love for the Ummah. She introduced us to Dr. Afia's 11-year old son Muhammad Ahmed: the child doesn't speak much but he is a ray of hope for his Naani and aunt Dr. Fauzia Siddique. The years that a child spends in playing with toys, in developing his personality and in learning new things have been spent in a horrible prison structured by self proclaimed world's best cultured society USA full of terrible and merciless people: who will return all these years to Muhammad Ahmed? Who will bring US leadership to justice? The child still seems as if he is new to this world, will he ever get back to normal; he has even forgotten his mother and his brothers and sisters for all these years when he was 6 years old up to now he has been kept in a torture cell and was separated from the rest of his family from day one.

The family is now really worried about Dr. Afia's daughter who was 4 years old when she was handed over to the FBI by none other than Islamic Republic of Pakistan's forces in the name of "War Against Terror" which is now even more clear that whose war this is, who are the friends and who is the enemy. Was Ahmed a terror for them? Really!! ..... Ahmed's sister is now growing up and this is what makes Dr. Fauzia more restless as no good can be expected from the dark age that USA is going through and what they did to Dr. Afia is not an unknown matter. During the gathering I and a friend of mine asked about the daughter and why can't she be traced, the reply was even worse than any Muslim could expect. Afia's sister replied, because there were many pictures that were shown to us of age 9 and it's extremely a guess work to say anything from pictures since we only have picture of the time when she was 4. Now question comes to my mind who were the other young girls? What's happening? Whose war is this and who is being captured? Where are we standing today? Was Pakistan only meant to save our daughters and sisters from Hindus, and who knows what happens in Kashmir too?

In end there was once again a nice and pleasant dua for the unification of Ummah under one roof of Islamic State Khilafah and an urge to all Muslim sisters not to be afraid of any one anymore.

This event made me think; if rulers are from us, then who will do this with our sisters and daughters, if we can bring a change by studying and through education then why MIT graduate with extreme talent of holding 75 awards suffered this and Pakistan's own government handed her over to such a place and to such leadership of the world and; why did not they honor her as an esteemed Pakistani. Why Abdul Qadeer after inventing nuclear bomb suffers that much? I guess answer lies in Dua that sandwiched the whole gathering.

[saleemraja]

How to send Dr. Aafia Siddiqui Post Cards/ Letters/ Money- Told by her lawyer Elizabeth Fink
Displaying all 2 posts.
Post #1

Dear members

You can contact Sister Aafia via following method and we thx to our sister Sahira for her efforts.


Aafia Siddiqui's criminal Defence Lawyer Elizabeth Fink held a press conference on Monday, August 25th in which she distributed the following information on how to send picture post cards to Aafia and how to make sure she has some money in her jail account so she can purchase items like newspapers and can make phone calls:

The following paragraphs are obtained directly from the handout distributed by Elizabeth Fink.

HOW TO SEND MAIL, PUBLICATIONS, AND MONEY TO AAFIA SIDDIQUI

AAFIA SIDDIQUI # 90279-054
MDC BROOKLYN
METROPOLITAN DETENTION CENTER
P.O BOX 329002
BROOKLYN, NY 11232

All mail will be opened and read by the United States Government. Please do not discuss her case, the charges against her, or where she has been for the past 5 years, her children, of family health matters, and do not ask her to discuss these things with you.

Only letters are permitted. Please do not send packages. You can send photographs with your letters, but no other items can be sent by mail.

BOOKS/MAGAZINES/OTHER PUBLICATIONS

Magazines and Newspapers must be sent directly from the publisher. Books can be ordered through Barnes & Noble – http://www.barnesandnoble.com

Aafia has requested books with nature photographs. She would also like to receive a daily newspaper (The New York Times) and magazines. If you would like to send her a publication, and want to make sure that she has not already received it, please email Sarah Kunstler at sarah@fkolaw.com

COMMISARY ACCOUNT

Aafia has a commissary account which she can use to make telephone calls and to purchase personal items and snacks.

The fastest way to put money into this account is through Western Union. You can do this by telephone, in person at a Western Union location, or online.

1) At an agent location with cash: You must complete a Quick Collect Form. To find the nearest agent, call 1-800-325-6000 or go to www.westernunion.com
2) By phone using a credit card / Debit card: Call 1-800-634-3422 and press option 2.
3) ONLINE using a credit / debit card: Go to www.westernunion.com , Click on Make Payment. Click the “online” button under “Send Money to an Inmate’s Trust Fund”, select “Federal Bureau of Prisons” as the Correctional Facility and hit continue. Enter the amount of money you want to deposit, the state you are sending from, and hit continue. The Acc # is 90279054SIDDIQUI. Type Aafia Siddiqui in the Attn or Memo line.


For each Western Union Quick Collect transaction, the following information must be provided:

1) Account #: 90279054SIDDIQUI
2) Attn or Memo Line: AAFIA SIDDIQUI
3) Code City: FBOP
4) State code: DC


If you have any questions, please contact Sarah Kunstler at sarah@fkolaw.com or call:

The Law Office of Elizabeth M Fink
36 Plaza Street Suite 1G
Brooklyn, NY 11238
Tel 718-783-3682
Fax 718-783-5853

[loyalpaki]

if anyone who has any sort of news about cia operatives like bin ladens then he/she will be held and killed by cia, and will be posted as wanted as terrorist.

who does not know about todays war crimes? tell me.
its a lot easy to black name some indviduals then to make a lie.
you tube justifies the events like 911 as inside job, the bush was illegally elected in florida when algore was still winning the presidency but jeb bush the brother of the devil saved him from loosing the elections and a total BUsh doctrine failure. there are some big names involved in the current wars which are the top secrets. yet unknown to the world because media is licking their shoes alll the time and cannot bark the names out in any case.
there are thousands of people missing in Pakistan!!!! search youtube videosclips and questions are all there..............
who knows what these individuals had done? perhaps they know the secrets of this game? or are caught up in the middle?