South Asia News

Alleged detention of Pakistani woman at US base challenged in court

Jul 29, 2008, 17:24 GMT

Islamabad - A higher court in Islamabad Tuesday heard a petition seeking a hearing over the alleged detention of Pakistani national Dr Afia Siddiqui at a US military base for past five years. Siddiqui, 35, who was wanted by US for alleged al-Qaeda membership, went missing five years ago with her three children in Karachi. 'There are some reports suggesting that she was kidnapped by Pakistani intelligence agencies and handed over to the Americans who illegally moved her either to their detention centre at Guantanamo Bay or to Bagram (airbase) in Afghanistan,' said lawyer Iqbal Jaafree. He said he had requested the Islamabad High Court to ask the Pakistani Interior Secretary and the legal consular official at the US embassy in Islamabad to produce Siddiqui. Jaafree said he had also cited a report in the petition from the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) that called on the Pakistani government last week to immediately confirm Siddiqui's whereabouts. Pakistani and American authorities have denied any knowledge about the whereabouts of Siddiqui. Pakistan, a key US ally in the US-led fight against terrorism, has been blamed by rights organizations for illegally handing over Pakistani national as well as international terror suspects to US intelligence agencies in the so-called war against terrorism.

South Asia News

Alleged detention of Pakistani woman at US base challenged in court

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