Islamabad, July 25, 2025: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday assured that the government would continue to extend all possible legal and diplomatic assistance in the case of Dr Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist imprisoned in the United States.
The assurance came during a meeting with Dr Fouzia Siddiqui, sister of Dr Aafia, at the Prime Minister’s Office. “The government is in no way negligent regarding the case of Dr Aafia Siddiqui,” the prime minister told Dr Fouzia, according to an official press release.
Dr Aafia Siddiqui was indicted by a U.S. federal court in 2008 on charges of attempted murder and assault during an interrogation by American officials in Ghazni, Afghanistan—allegations she strongly denied. She was convicted in early 2010 and sentenced to 86 years in prison. She is currently serving her sentence at a facility in Fort Worth, Texas.
Highlighting the government’s past efforts, the Prime Minister’s Office stated that on his instructions, legal and diplomatic support had already been extended in Dr Aafia’s case. PM Shehbaz also wrote a formal letter to then-U.S. President Joe Biden seeking clemency, though the appeal was not granted.
To ensure sustained progress, the prime minister formed a high-level committee led by Federal Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar. The committee will stay in regular contact with Dr Fouzia Siddiqui and continue coordinating all necessary support moving forward.
Concerns over Dr Aafia’s treatment in U.S. custody have intensified in recent years. In June last year, her lawyer, American human rights attorney Clive Stafford Smith, alleged that she was subjected to repeated sexual and physical abuse at the Texas prison. He claimed that a security guard had raped her as an act of punishment, and the abuse has continued unchecked.
“Sexual abuse of Dr Aafia has not stopped. She is being consistently subjected to physical harassment,” Stafford Smith said after meeting her in prison.
The prime minister reiterated the government’s determination to address the matter through all available diplomatic and legal avenues.
