Dr Aafia’s children not in US custody’
ISLAMABAD, Aug 21: The United States has informed Pakistan that suspected Al Qaeda fixer Dr Aafia Siddiqui’s three children were not in its custody.
“On our demand that the children of Dr Aafia Siddiqui be returned to Pakistan, we have been told by the US authorities that the children are not in US custody,” Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Sadiq said at his weekly briefing on Thursday.
Pakistan had last week sent a note to the US State Department asking for immediate repatriation of the children.
The government, Mr Sadiq said, would continue to look for the children.
“There have been no indications from the US about the possible whereabouts of the children,” the spokesman said.
The Foreign Office, he said, was seeking consular access for the visiting parliamentarians and other officials from Pakistan.
It has been misreported by the media that Dr Aafia is a Ph.D in biosciences or neurology, the correct position is she is an educationist with a Ph.D from the Brandeis University in Boston. He said that her education in no way could have enabled her to engage in chemical or biological warfare.
Source: Dawn
Date:8/22/2008