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The Islamabad High Court (IHC) was informed on Friday that the appeal for the release and repatriation of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist serving an 86-year sentence in the United States, has been dismissed.
Dr. Siddiqui was sentenced in 2010 by a federal court in Manhattan after being convicted of attempting to fire at U.S. troops while in custody, along with six other charges.
The petition for her release was heard by an IHC bench led by Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan. During the proceedings, her lawyer revealed that former U.S. President Joe Biden had rejected her plea for clemency. Furthermore, the U.S. government has declined to negotiate a prisoner exchange agreement with Pakistan.
Her American attorney, Clive Stafford Smith, had previously submitted a comprehensive 76,500-word dossier requesting clemency just days before Donald Trump’s inauguration. Despite ongoing efforts, including a clemency petition submitted to the White House last year and an appeal from former Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to President Biden for her release, no progress has been made.
During the proceedings, Justice Ishaq remarked, “America is showing us our worth,” highlighting the stark disparity in U.S. clemency decisions. The court noted that while a former U.S. president pardoned his own son, no such consideration was extended to Dr. Siddiqui, a Pakistani citizen.