Pasban Democratic Party has urged the Government of Pakistan to pay special attention to ensure the release of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, with the party’s General Secretary Iqbal Hashmi linking her continued imprisonment to the country’s ongoing internal turmoil and economic decline.
In a statement on Monday, Hashmi expressed a widespread belief among Pakistanis that Dr. Siddiqui and her children have been subjected to “the worst tyranny,” and expressed the nation’s disappointment over the indifference of assembly members on the matter.
He asserted that since her “abduction,” the country has been plagued by internal chaos, external pressure, and economic deterioration.
Highlighting the “twenty-three years of mental and physical torture” she allegedly endured, he questioned when the “dark night of oppression” will end, and said that such a long ordeal would “shatter even stones.”
The General Secretary maintained that Dr. Siddiqui was and is still being denied full legal rights during her trial. He questioned whether the “law of the jungle” has been established globally, where the principle of “might is right” oppresses the weak.
Evoking the spirit of national honor, Hashmi posed a question: “If Quaid-e-Azam were alive, would he have left a daughter to be buried alive and alone?” He said the country has strayed from its founding objectives.
He also raised critical questions about the well-being of Dr. Siddiqui’s youngest son, asking about his condition, whether he is still alive, and demanded to know who will answer.
Concluding his statement, Hashmi lamented that the rulers no longer fear “accountability in the hereafter,” describing the current era as a “state of every man for himself” and called for a united struggle as a demand of national unity and honor.