No faith in US judicial system, Aafia tells Pak MPs

NEW YORK - Dr Aafia Siddiqui, who faces charges of attempted murder and assault, does not have faith in the US judicial system and rejects the case against her as false and baseless, the head of a Pakistani Parliamentary delegation which met her in Texas said on Wednesday.

Mushahid, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told a Press conference on return to New York that Dr. Siddiqui, who is under US detention, wanted the case against her dropped and she wished to be returned to Pakistan.

Aafia, a 36-year-old US-educated Pakistani neuroscientist who was shot in the abdomen by US agent after she allegedly grabbed an American soldier’s gun during questioning in July, was brought to New York on August 4 to face charges of attempted murder and assault.

Mushahid, who met her for 2 hours 45 minutes at Carswell Medical Centre in a military prison compound at Fort Worth near Dallas, Texas, said Ms. Siddiqui told them she had no faith in the US courts hearing her case.

She is presently held at the centre for psychiatric evaluation to determine if she was fit to stand trial.