August 08, 2008	Friday	Sha’aban 5, 1429

ISLAMABAD, Aug 7: The Foreign Office said on Thursday that the government still did not have complete information about Dr Aafia Siddiqui’s case.

“We still do not know when was she arrested originally, where are her children, how did she go missing? We are still trying to find these facts,” spokesman Mohammad Sadiq said at a briefing on Thursday.

When asked if Dr Aafia’s arrest would affect Pakistan-US relations, he said: “We don’t have full information about the case to take a decision. You are talking about the second step, we are still in the first step.”

He said Pakistan was seeking from the United States consular access to Dr Aafia and wanted to provide medical assistance. He also said that the government was committed to bringing back all Pakistanis detained in other countries.

The spokesman said that the embassy in Washington was seeking consular access to Dr Aafia and US authorities were expected to take a decision on the matter soon. “She is a citizen of this country and has claim on this country,” he said, adding that the government would provide all possible assistance to Dr Aafia.

He said the government had been officially informed by the US authorities that she had been handed over to the US custody by Afghan authorities on July 17 in Ghazni.—APP