Dr Aafia case adjourned

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Monday adjourned till Aug 27 the hearing of a habeas corpus petition seeking recovery of Dr Aafia Siddiqui from American detention.

A deputy attorney general filed a written statement on behalf of ministries of foreign affairs and interior that had been directed to file their para wise comments on the petition and apprise the court of developments in her case for bringing her back to the country and whether the government had any objection about referring the matter to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Petitioner Barrister Iqbal Jafree submitted that Aafia was among more than 9,000 citizens handed over by Gen Pervez Musharraf (retired) to the US. He prayed the court to direct the government to take steps for bringing her back to the country, and in case the matter was not resolved, it must be taken to the ICJ under the 1959 treaty that was signed by the two countries.

Dr Aafia was arrested from Karachi on March 30, 2003, and was taken to Afghanistan. Later, she was taken to the US where she was being tried under terrorism charges for attempting to kill two American investigators. Two of her American national children were reportedly still missing, while one of her sons has been handed over to her sister by the interior ministry.

The LHC has also restrained the federal government from releasing $20 million to three American lawyers for pleading the case of Dr Aafia in American courts and directed it to submit its reply in this regard.

Child Case: The Sheikhupra district police officer (DPO) informed the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday that legal proceedings had been initiated against his predecessor for violating court orders regarding the recovery of the child of French woman Peggy Collin.
Source: Dawn
Date:8/18/2009