Lahore High Court directs Govt. to use all means to defend terror suspect Dr.Aafia

LAHORE - The Lahore High Court (LHC) has directed the federal government to use all its diplomatic means to defend Aafia Siddiqui, who is currently in detention in the US for having alleged links with Al Qaeda.

LHC Justice Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry also asked the Foreign Office to write a letter to the American court and bring all documents and materials, which would prove Siddiqui’s innocence, to its knowledge, The Daily Times reports.

The court’s directive came during a petition filed by one Javed Iqbal Jaffree, who submitted that Siddiqui was kidnapped along with her three children from Karachi in 2003, and that the government should be directed to seek her release from the US custody.

Siddiqui, a trained neuroscientist, has been charged by the US for allegedly shooting at her American interrogators in Afghanistan in July 2008.

Aafia faces up to 20 years in prison on the attempted murder charges and life in prison on the firearms charge. (ANI)