Iram Zahra
Raymond Davis, an American National, opened fire and shot dead two people in Lahore, Pakistan in the end of January, 2011. According to him, it was self-defense. Then later he hit a man by his car and said that it was an accident. US consulate is now under investigation. However, it’s been heard that Pakistan Government is going to release him free of charges. Due to this absurdity, the people are protesting against it by arguing it is unfair to Dr. Aafia Siddiqui who is a female Pakistan citizen and killed two US soldiers in self-defense in a war in Afghanistan.
With this act of “self-defense” in a war, she had to go through great sufferings in a form of mental and physical torture in Guantanamo Bay for more than 5 years now. Last year she was sentenced to 86 years in US jail. Pakistanis are protesting and demanding Dr. Aafia should be treated as Raymond Davis is.
Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, who studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston, US for about 10 years and completed her PhD in genetics, returned to Pakistan in 2002. On March 30, 2003, Dr. Siddiqui left her mother’s house in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi, Sindh province, along with her three children by taxi (a metro cab) to catch a flight for Rawalpindi, Punjab province, but never reached the airport.
Daily Times gives a detailed account of her mysterious disappearance in 2004 – The strange story of Aafia Siddiqui
“Months later, the FBI would make its most devastating claim against Siddiqui. It was still dark on the morning of March 1, 2003, when Pakistani authorities arrested Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, a known September 11 mastermind, at a Karachi safe house. The arrest made news around the world. It also presaged the extraordinary vanishing act of Aafia Siddiqui and her three small children.” It seems Khalid Sheikh Mohammed gave up Aafia’s name as being a major Al Qaeda operative.” However, one of her defenders says Siddiqui’s identity was likely stolen. “Aafia was, I think, probably a pretty naive and trusting person and my guess is it would be pretty easy for somebody who wanted to steal an identity to just steal it.” About a month after his capture in the spring of 2003, she disappeared.
The question is where is Afia and why are police and intelligence agencies silent? Is she in the custody of the FBI or the ISI? Another possibility is that Afia might have been kidnapped by her ex-husband, who may have links with Al-Qaeda. Whatever the case, there seems to be a deliberate attempt to hush up the mysterious circumstances behind Afia Siddiqui’s disappearance.”
Two days before, senior U.S senator, John Kerry arrived in Pakistan in order to discuss about the Raymond case. America is demanding the release of Raymond as soon as possible. Pakistani government is under pressure to take an immediate step. On the other hand, Pakistani people are so emotional because they need a justice for the blood of three Pakistani people who were killed in the main city of Lahore, Punjab. There would be a big reaction expected after the result of this case. Many analysts said that Pakistan could become next Egypt or Tunisia.
Raymond Davis killed 2 people at a public place of Lahore and claimed to fire in self-defense. Reaction: US embassy has refused to cooperate with Pakistan and demanding his immediate release. At other side Dr. Aafia Siddiqui a Pakistani citizen killed 2 US soldiers in self-defense in war in Afghanistan. Reaction: Physical & mental torture for 5 years and then finally sentence to 80 years in prison. This absurdity and unfair trial all were possible from the full support of Pakistani government.
Aafia is the mother of three and her children are waiting for their mother from last eight years. No body knows the future of that two persons and we are waiting for the justice from the Governments of U.S and Pakistan.
Why the difference? One criminal must be charged where he/she did a crime according to the law of that country where he/she committed a crime.