ISLAMABAD- The government’s efforts to secure early repatriation of Dr Aafia Siddiqui from the US suffered a setback after the Council of Europe rejected its request for accession to the Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons.
In August last year the federal cabinet approved a proposal for the government to seek accession to the Council of Europe’s treaty on transfer of convicts. Subsequently, Sartaj Aziz, the Prime Minister’s Adviser for Foreign Affairs and National Security, wrote a letter to the council requesting accession to the convention.
The council is Europe’s leading human rights organization. It has 47 member states, 28 of them members of the European Union.
Foreign Office spokesperson Tasneem Aslam denied that Pakistan’s request had been rejected when she was contacted.