Ijaz Kakakhel Islamabad
Interim Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Thursday ordered to raise the matter of the alleged sexual assault on Dr Aafia Siddiqui before the US State Department, said the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
During the weekly briefing, Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said the information regarding the incarcerated Pakistani citizen is of a very ‘serious nature’ and assured the journalists present that Aafia’s and “the welfare of all Pakistanis is our top priority”. Yesterday, Dr Aafia Siddiqui’s lawyer, Clive Stafford Smith disclosed on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that she has been subjected to sexual assault on two occasions during her incarceration in the US prison.
Referring to Pakistan’s war on terror, Mumtaz said that the world has recognised measures taken by Pakistan against terrorism and terror financing. She added that Afghanistan was not the only point of agenda in focus during the ongoing meetings with American delegations this week.
On the issue of Afghanistan’s interior minister Sirajuddin Haqqani allegedly holding a valid Pakistani passport, the spokesperson said she has just seen the report and would give answers “after the facts are revealed”. “I have seen the report on the use of a Pakistani passport by the Afghan minister. The matter will be answered after ascertaining the facts,” said FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch. The publication, via the interior ministry officials, learnt that these passports were issued from different cities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Sindh.
Meanwhile, two passport officials involved in issuing Haqqani’s passport have been arrested, one of whom had retired from service by the time the action was initiated against him. The issue around the minister using the Pakistani passport comes at a time when Pakistan continues to repatriate illegal foreigners, most of whom are undocumented Afghan migrants.
Baloch also briefed the presser about top officials from the United States visiting Pakistan this week. “The focus of these visits is not only Afghanistan. These visits are related to the multifaceted aspects of Pakistan-US relations,” she said, adding that Pakistan has decided to talk to America. Pakistan and the US will conduct consultations over several issues including the situation in Afghanistan, the FO said last week. In the meetings between Pakistan and US officials, reservations of both sides will be discussed.
