KARACHI: A protest rally was held in front of the FMC Carswell jail in Texas, USA, against the continuing detention of Pakistani woman scientist Dr Aafia Siddiqui, where protestors asked why Aafia was still in jail when the so-called Afghan war had already been ended.
According to a statement on Tuesday, a large number of people and civil society workers participated in the protest rally organized by the CAIR Texas DWF and Aafia Foundation to protest against recent attack on Aafia in jail and later keeping her in solitary confinement and denying her from access to her lawyers.
Addressing the rally, rights activist, Dr Umar Suleman demanded from Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan to use his influence and authority for the release of Dr Aafia Siddiqui. They said after 9/11 handing Dr Aafia insanely long 86-year imprisonment is one of the biggest violations of human rights in the world. He said Prime Minister Imran Khan can use his influence and authority to seek the release of Aafia and should do so.
On the occasion, Mori Salikeen and other leaders also spoke. As per information received by Media Information Cell Aafia Movement, hundreds of American human rights activists participated in the protest rally to demand early release of Aafia and ending her physical and mental torture. After the recent attack in jail on Aafia with boiling hot coffee cup, she is kept in solitary confinement in a 6×6 cell. She is denied from meeting her lawyers.
Her lawyers have a filed a petition for meeting her but it is said this this petition would be heard after nine months, which means the family would not be able to know about health and safety of Aafia for nine long months. It has been demanded by human rights activists and organizations that when the so-called Afghan war has already ended, all innocent citizens including Aafia should be released immediately.
This protest in front of the Carswell jail was a part of the series of the protests in the US in this connection. The first protest of this series was held before the Pakistani consulate in Texas. The third and the fourth protest of this series would be held in front of this US court that had handed the ridiculously long jail sentence to innocent Dr Aafia despite the fact that no solid evidences against her were presented before the judge. The fifth protest would be held in the US capital Washington DC. These protests would raise the just demand that when the Afghan war had already ended the innocent victim of this war, Dr Aafia Siddiqui, should be immediately released.