ISLAMABAD: Incarcerated Pakistani neuroscientist Aafia Siddiqui will meet his sister Dr Fawzia Siddiqui in a US prison on December 2.

Following an in-camera hearing of a petition filed with Islamabad High Court, seeking the release and repatriation of Dr Aafia, a counsel for her sister Dr Fawzia Siddiqui told mediapersons that the latter was visiting the US to meet her detained sister.

In June this year, both the sisters had a reunion at Carswell, the prison medical facility in Fort Worth, after 20 years.

The counsel, Imran Shafiq, said Dr Fawzia expressed apprehensions about her security before Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan during the in-camera hearing. He said the court directed the ministry of foreign affairs to ensure her security during the US visit.

He said Dr Aafia was detained in a small cell of an infamous jail and the legal team was trying to get her shifted to another jail.

During the hearing, Dr Aafia’s attorney Clive Stafford Smith joined the court proceedings through video link from the US. He informed the court about his visit to Afghanistan, where Dr Aafia was arrested in 2008.

Published in Dawn, November 25th, 2023