Aafia Siddiqui repatriation plea: No reply yet from Joe Biden to PM’s letter, IHC told

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has informed the Islamabad High Court that there has been no response to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s letter from US President Joe Biden.

The court wondered what should be understood when the chief executive of the country wrote a letter but got no response.

It directed the federal law officer to submit details of the foreign visits of the prime minister and the foreign minister since Dr AAafia Siddiqui’s pardon application in the US and directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to consider the matter at the diplomatic level.

Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan of the Islamabad High Court heard a petition with regard to the release and repatriation of Dr AAafia Siddiqui.

The court observed that that America is a sovereign country, and it can also reject the visa of Dr Fauzia Siddiqui or that of the prime minister, but the matter has to be taken up at the diplomatic level.

A declaration was submitted by Dr AAafia’s American counsel Clive Smith, on which the court sought a detailed report from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The foreign ministry’s lawyer said that the Pakistani mission in the US had completed the arrangements for the delegation to meet Dr AAafia. The lawyer informed that the court that no reply has been received from the Joe Biden administration to the letter sent by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

According to the documents, the delegation arrived late, the court said and inquired the additional attorney general where his ambassador was.

The IHC observed that the Pakistani ambassador to the US and the delegation should have met with the Joe Biden administration.

Petitioner Dr. Fauzia Siddiqui appeared in the court through video link and said that when the chief executive of one country writes a letter to the executive of another country, a reply is mandatory.

The court adjourned the hearing till January 13, directing the federal law officer to submit details of the visits of the prime minister and the foreign minister to the US.