LAHORE, Jan 31: The parents of the both Fahim and Faizan – two young men who were shot dead by a US Consulate employee on Thursday – have said they are ready to withdraw the murder case filed against Raymond Davis if the US authorities allow Dr Aafia Siddiqui to return to Pakistan as a free citizen.

“We discussed the matter in detail and finally decided to link up the withdrawal of murder case with Dr Aafia Siddiqui release,” Fahim’s father Shamshad Ali, who works as a security guard at a local factory, told Dawn on Monday.

“They (US authorities) should release Dr Aafia or see Davis hanged,” Faizan’s brother Imran Haider said, rejecting all other options, including monetary compensation.

Shamshad, who resides in a five-marla rented house of Ilam Din Colony, a low-come locality, was not happy with Davis’s offer of monetary compensation.

“I will not take a single penny from the US citizen (Davis) or the government for my son’s life,” Shamshad said categorically.

“Though my family is facing financial constraints, the American government’s attitude towards our citizens like Dr Aafia forced me and my children to reject the compensation offer and to ask the authorities to go for a bargain with US,” he said.

Fahim’s elder brother Waseem also expressed similar views and demanded the government take up the issue with the US authorities for the release of Dr Aafia, otherwise the killer should be treated according to the law without any discrimination.

“We want to see Dr Aafia back in the country or execution of the killer of my brother at Qartaba Chowk where he was assassinated mercilessly,” Waseem said.

Faizan’s elder brother Imran Haider, also a complainant in the FIR registered against Raymond Davis, told Dawn he and his parents discussed all available options with Fahim’s family.

“While recalling the efforts of Dr Aafia’s helpless family for her release, we have decided that this is the time to forget our agonies and use the opportunity to get the nation’s daughter released.”

MUNAWAR’S VISIT: Jamaat-i-Islami Amir Syed Munawar Hasan also visited the family of Faizan Haider on Monday and expressed his deep sense of grief over his murder.

Talking to the media after visiting Faizan’s house, he condemned the act of US Consulate employee and his colleagues and assured the bereaved family that the JI would ensure the killers of the three youths get punished through court of law.

He said the JI’s Punjab chapter had set up a committee comprising senior lawyers to provide legal assistance to the bereaved families.