The Death of Pakistan’s Honour

On Wednesday 30^th March gatherers mourned the death of Pakistan’s Honour and US Justice in a mock funeral procession terminating at the US Embassy.  This poignant event marked the 8^th anniversary of the abduction of Dr Aafia Siddiqui a mother of three who is reported to have endured torture and humiliation during her time in prison.  Initially taken hostage in 2003 with her three children on her way to the airport in Pakistan it is suspected she was tortured in Bagram – Afghanistan, before finally being transferred to the US following a trial which had her given an 86 year prison term for allegedly firing a loaded weapon under custody.  The fact that the only person injured was herself, there were no fingerprints on the gun and the eyewitness statements all contradicted was overlooked by the trial and Aafia remains in prison in the US to this day.

The event, organised by Justice for Aafia Coalition, featured powerful speeches by a human rights lawyer, a representative from the IHRC, Adnan Rashid and supportive proxy statements by Lauren Booth and MPs. One thing is clear, JFAC will not allow us to forget Aafia this year nor any other year ia – this violation will not be forgotten.