Woman moves LHC over harassment by FBI

RAWALPINDI: The Lahore High Court has sought written comments from federal secretaries of the ministries of foreign affairs and interior on a petition filed by a woman doctor alleging that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had tried to kidnap her.

Justice Asad Munir ordered the secretaries on Tuesday to file their replies within three weeks in response to the petition of Dr Mehwish Saleem Baig. She had alleged that she was being harassed by FBI officials after being detained in the US consulate in Karachi for over two hours.

Dr Mehwish stated that she had gone to the United States in 1998 after getting married to Dr Faheem Nusrat and both obtained US nationality. She returned to Pakistan this year with her daughters Ayasha Faheem, 9, and Fatima Faheem, 5, after her husband divorced her over domestic issues.

Before returning to Pakistan, she obtained legal custody of the girls through a court after getting permission from their father, she said. She said she had left the US because she was facing financial problems there.

The petitioner said she wanted to renounce her and her daughters’ US citizenship and she got an appointment on Nov 10 from US Consul Tracy Brown, who assigned a member of her staff for the meeting.
Source: Dawn
Date:12/23/2009