Pakistan’s prime minister appeals to US for release of alleged al-Qaida member

Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif formally appealed to US President Joe Biden for the release of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, the Pakistani neuroscientist currently serving an 86-year prison sentence in the US for attempting to kill American officials in Afghanistan.

This development was revealed during a hearing at the Islamabad High Court on Friday when a state lawyer submitted a copy of Sharif’s letter.

The high court had asked the Pakistani government for a comprehensive report on diplomatic efforts to secure Siddiqui’s release. In response, the government presented a letter dated October 13 indicating a direct appeal to President Biden to reconsider Siddiqui’s case on humanitarian grounds.

Siddiqui is currently serving her sentence at a federal prison in Fort Worth, Texas, without the possibility of parole.

Letter to Biden

In his letter to Biden, Sharif highlighted that Siddiqui’s incarceration has severely affected her mental and physical health, noting concerns for her well-being, including the possibility of self-harm.

Emphasizing his duty to protect Pakistani citizens, Sharif requested that Biden “exercise his authority to grant clemency and secure Siddiqui’s release on humanitarian grounds.” He said that millions of Pakistanis expected Biden to carry out this “act of kindness.”

Biden has not yet responded to Sharif’s letter. If Sharif manages to get Siddiqui released, that would be seen as a diplomatic victory for Pakistan.

Siddiqui rose to notoriety after her conviction in 2010 on multiple charges, including attempting to kill American officials. Born in Karachi, Pakistan, in 1972, Siddiqui moved to the US in 1990 on a student visa, eventually earning a doctorate in neuroscience from Brandeis University.

Siddiqui's past 

As an undergraduate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she was involved in the Muslim Students Association. There, she raised funds for the Al-Kifah Refugee Center, which was later linked to al-Qaida.

After marrying Pakistani doctor Amjad Khan, she returned to Pakistan in 2002, divorced her first husband, and married Ammar al-Baluchi, a nephew of 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

When Mohammed was captured in 2003, he identified Siddiqui as an al-Qaida courier. Siddiqui vanished in March 2003 after the FBI issued a global alert for her and her husband regarding possible connections to Osama bin Laden.

Siddiqui’s whereabouts were eventually traced to the US military base in Bagram, Afghanistan, where she was reportedly interrogated, tortured, and held in solitary confinement for five years—a claim the US denies. She came to be known as the “Gray Lady of Bagram.”

Al-Baluchi was later captured and sent to Guantanamo Bay.

Attack on US soldiers

In 2008, Siddiqui returned to Karachi and then to Afghanistan, where she was arrested by Afghan intelligence in July 2008. Authorities claimed she possessed sodium cyanide and documents related to explosives and US landmarks.

While being investigated regarding ties to al-Qaida, Siddiqui allegedly seized a US military officer’s rifle and opened fire on soldiers and FBI officials. She was shot in the stomach and required emergency surgery.

Siddiqui was transferred to the US the following month and charged with armed assault and attempting to kill US officers. She denied the charges, but she was convicted in early 2010 and sentenced to 86 years in prison. Following her imprisonment, protests erupted in Pakistan, where she was viewed as a hero.

Her sister, Fowzia Siddiqui, a Karachi-based neurologist, has actively advocated for her case and recently visited her in prison. She filed an application in the Islamabad High Court for her sister’s return.

“This is the first serious step by Pakistan for any of its citizens detained abroad,” Fowzia Siddiqui told The Media Line. She hoped “such efforts would help safeguard the rights of Pakistani citizens.”

Fowzia Siddiqui said that the government ought to intensify its efforts. She proposed sending delegations of Pakistani citizens to the US and encouraging Pakistanis to write letters to the US president urging Aafia Siddiqui’s release.

Aafia Siddiqui’s case has been discussed for many years in the fields of international law, human rights, and US-Pakistan relations.

Her arrest and conviction led to widespread public outcry in Pakistan, where many view her as a victim of unfair treatment.

This latest diplomatic move is part of a longer Pakistani effort to bring her home. However, the complexities of US-Pakistan relations, especially concerning counterterrorism and extradition, pose significant challenges to these efforts.

“Pakistan’s request is part of its diplomatic efforts to protect the rights of its citizens abroad,” Tanveer Akhtar, a senior attorney at the Supreme Court of Pakistan, told The Media Line. He said that Pakistan might argue for Siddiqui’s rights under the UN’s International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

“Such arguments would be more relevant in diplomatic discussions rather than creating any legal obligation for the US,” Akhtar noted. “Additionally, there is no existing prisoner transfer treaty between the US and Pakistan, and any potential agreement would depend on US discretion.”

Akhtar said the power to pardon Siddiqui or commute her sentence is in Biden’s hands. “In deciding whether to exercise this power, President Biden would likely weigh broader foreign policy and security concerns, especially given Siddiqui’s alleged links to al-Qaida and the sensitivity of the case,” he said.

Hifsa Bano, a Karachi-based international law expert, told The Media Line that significant uncertainty remains regarding the details of Siddiqui’s alleged crimes and her arrest. “Without verifiable facts, it is difficult for lawyers to determine the legal framework applicable to her case,” she said.

According to the US, Siddiqui and other people arrested in Afghanistan were “unlawful combatants” and therefore not protected by the Geneva Conventions, Bano said.  

“Even if Siddiqui is not considered a prisoner of war, she is still entitled to basic protections under international human rights law, including the right to physical integrity and protection from torture and inhuman treatment,” Bano said.

She pointed to the UN’s Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, also known as the Mandela Rules, as a set of guidelines for treating prisoners that applies regardless of someone’s status as a prisoner of war.

“The United States is bound by international human rights law to respect and uphold the rights outlined in global human rights treaties for all individuals within its territory and jurisdiction, without any form of discrimination,” Bano continued.

She said that the US presidential election is less than two weeks away, and Sharif’s letter to Biden will likely have little effect.

Adrian Calamel, a global expert on terrorism and a senior fellow at the Washington-based Arabian Peninsula Institute, offered a different perspective.

“The Pakistani prime minister’s request to the United States for the release of Aafia Siddiqui seems to be more about satisfying domestic audiences than achieving any concrete results,” he told The Media Line. 

He said that Pakistani authorities might not be interested in her returning to the country “given her strong associations with terrorist activities.”

He also said that the Pakistani government understands how unlikely it is that the US would release Siddiqui.

“Siddiqui has a history of providing support to al-Qaida, which complicates any discussions of pardon or release,” Calamel said. “Her active role in supporting Khalid Sheikh Mohammed’s network, especially her connections with a key al-Qaida associate, Majid Khan, strongly justifies her continued detention.”

He said that she might have faced much harsher consequences than decades in prison.

“The US government’s decision to pursue charges related to the Afghan incident may have been a strategic choice, but her deeper connections to terrorism remain a major factor in why the possibility of her release is virtually nonexistent,” Calamel said.