Dr Aafia Siddiqui: A Conundrum
By Basheer A. Khan
US
I write this email to compliment your columnist, Mr Arif Hussaini, on his article in the Feb 12 issue of Link. This clarity and candor on the story were not visible in any of the Pakistani newspapers which I regularly read. The concluding paragraph was really the gist and the purpose of the article for which a journalist should write an article.
There is no doubt that this case is going to damage the image of the Western justice system notwithstanding the fact that it was Ridley, a Westerner who traced this lady in Afghanistan, and it was Newsweek that enabled the Pakistani people to connect the dots and trace the story from 2003 onwards, otherwise she would have been another name in the list of missing people whom the General gave not to fight terrorism but to cling to power.
In democracy where money and votes are more important than the advice, this sincere advice I am sure will be taken seriously by those who ought to take it. In this whole saga the role of Muslim leaders is despicable. They have formed a syndicate with some of the evil faces here to carry on the mutually agreed agenda by projecting it as national interest. It is unfortunate that people are not awakening to this game despite the havoc it has wreaked in the Lost Decade.
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