ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said Friday it would petition the United States to repatriate a Pakistani mother of three sentenced to 86 years in jail for attempted murder whose fate sparked furious protests.
A New York court found Aafia Siddiqui, the once brilliant scientist dubbed " Lady Qaida" by the US tabloids, guilty of the attempted murder of US military officers in Afghanistan in a case that sparked outrage in Pakistan.
"We will use every means to bring her back. Doctor Aafia is the daughter of the nation. We fought for her and we will fight politically to bring her back," Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told parliament.
The tough jail term sparked immediate outrage among Islamic activists in Pakistani cities, who took to the streets chanting anti-US slogans and burnt an effigy of President Barack Obama, AFP reporters said.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the government would petition the US administration to review the sentence on a "humanitarian basis" and request that Siddiqui be handed over to Pakistan and dealt with under Pakistani law.
Asked under what circumstances Siddiqui could return home, the foreign ministry said Obama could pardon her, or an agreement could be reached for her to serve at least part of her sentence in Pakistan.
Siddiqui, 38, who as a student excelled at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was found guilty of grabbing a rifle at an Afghan police station where she was being interrogated in July 2008 and of trying to shoot US servicemen.
Prosecutors said she picked up the weapon and opened fire on US servicemen and FBI representatives trying to take her into detention. She missed and in a struggle was herself shot by one of the US soldiers.
Defence lawyers argued there was no physical evidence, such as finger prints or gunpowder traces, to show Siddiqui even grabbed the rifle.
Siddiqui's lawyers have said they will appeal against the sentence.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan expressed "dismay" over the "unusually harsh sentence" and called on Islamabad and Washington to negotiate urgently for her repatriation on humanitarian grounds.
"We fear that the verdict will be misunderstood in Pakistan and bring relations between the two allies in the war on terror under increased strain," said its chairman Mehdi Hasan.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has been criticised at home, particularly among Islamist and right-wing groups, as well as by Siddiqui's family for failing to get her released.
In Karachi, Siddiqui's home town and the largest city in Pakistan, police went on full alert to guard against possible violence.
"We have deployed maximum police force in the city to stop possible violence and ensure that no private property is damaged during future protests," city police chief Fayyaz Leghari told AFP.
Lawyers went on strike in Punjab, Pakistan's most populous province, to protest against what Rana Mohammad Akram Khan, a member of the bar council called an "inhuman sentence".
Dozens of lawyers and activists blocked traffic in the central city of Multan on Friday, shouting "Down with America" and setting fire to an effigy of Obama and former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf, an AFP reporter said.
Siddiqui's family vowed to launch a "movement" to get her released from jail, with sister Fowzia telling reporters she was confident that the entire country would agitate to bring her home.
"I was alone... when I started the campaign to release my sister, but from now on it will be the Aafia movement as the whole nation is with me," she said.
Around 200 activists from Jamaat-e-Islami and various right-wing groups gathered outside Siddiqui's Karachi home overnight, shouting "Down with America" and "Allahu akbar" (God is greater).
In Pakistan's second largest city of Lahore, around 200 activists from Islami Jamiat Talaba, the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, burnt tyres and shouted anti-US slogans after the sentencing.
A New York court found Aafia Siddiqui, the once brilliant scientist dubbed " Lady Qaida" by the US tabloids, guilty of the attempted murder of US military officers in Afghanistan in a case that sparked outrage in Pakistan.
"We will use every means to bring her back. Doctor Aafia is the daughter of the nation. We fought for her and we will fight politically to bring her back," Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told parliament.
The tough jail term sparked immediate outrage among Islamic activists in Pakistani cities, who took to the streets chanting anti-US slogans and burnt an effigy of President Barack Obama, AFP reporters said.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the government would petition the US administration to review the sentence on a "humanitarian basis" and request that Siddiqui be handed over to Pakistan and dealt with under Pakistani law.
Asked under what circumstances Siddiqui could return home, the foreign ministry said Obama could pardon her, or an agreement could be reached for her to serve at least part of her sentence in Pakistan.
Siddiqui, 38, who as a student excelled at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was found guilty of grabbing a rifle at an Afghan police station where she was being interrogated in July 2008 and of trying to shoot US servicemen.
Prosecutors said she picked up the weapon and opened fire on US servicemen and FBI representatives trying to take her into detention. She missed and in a struggle was herself shot by one of the US soldiers.
Defence lawyers argued there was no physical evidence, such as finger prints or gunpowder traces, to show Siddiqui even grabbed the rifle.
Siddiqui's lawyers have said they will appeal against the sentence.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan expressed "dismay" over the "unusually harsh sentence" and called on Islamabad and Washington to negotiate urgently for her repatriation on humanitarian grounds.
"We fear that the verdict will be misunderstood in Pakistan and bring relations between the two allies in the war on terror under increased strain," said its chairman Mehdi Hasan.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has been criticised at home, particularly among Islamist and right-wing groups, as well as by Siddiqui's family for failing to get her released.
In Karachi, Siddiqui's home town and the largest city in Pakistan, police went on full alert to guard against possible violence.
"We have deployed maximum police force in the city to stop possible violence and ensure that no private property is damaged during future protests," city police chief Fayyaz Leghari told AFP.
Lawyers went on strike in Punjab, Pakistan's most populous province, to protest against what Rana Mohammad Akram Khan, a member of the bar council called an "inhuman sentence".
Dozens of lawyers and activists blocked traffic in the central city of Multan on Friday, shouting "Down with America" and setting fire to an effigy of Obama and former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf, an AFP reporter said.
Siddiqui's family vowed to launch a "movement" to get her released from jail, with sister Fowzia telling reporters she was confident that the entire country would agitate to bring her home.
"I was alone... when I started the campaign to release my sister, but from now on it will be the Aafia movement as the whole nation is with me," she said.
Around 200 activists from Jamaat-e-Islami and various right-wing groups gathered outside Siddiqui's Karachi home overnight, shouting "Down with America" and "Allahu akbar" (God is greater).
In Pakistan's second largest city of Lahore, around 200 activists from Islami Jamiat Talaba, the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, burnt tyres and shouted anti-US slogans after the sentencing.
Read more: Pakistan wants jailed scientist repatriated - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Pakistan-wants-jailed-scientist-repatriated/articleshow/6619771.cms#ixzz10RDrOQQu
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