Advisor to the Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan has told Senate that Dr Afia Siddiqui, Pakistani woman incarcerated in a US jail, has filed a mercy petition which will be sent to the President of United States through jail authorities.
Babar Awan expressed these remarks in the question-hour session of the upper house of the parliament. “Now the Pakistani government had got an opening and it can stress the US government to hand over Dr Aafia to Pakistan,” he added. He also told the senate that the Pakistani embassy is in touch with Dr Aafia through telephone. Awan suggested legal action could be taken against those who handed over Dr Aafia and other Pakistani citizens to the US.
Dr Aafia was indicted in 2010 by a US court in the case of shooting at US soldiers during interrogation in Afghanistan.
Separately, Information Minister Shibli Faraz warned the opposition against pleasing the enemies of Pakistan by making China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) controversial. He said that CPEC was an agreement between two countries, but the opposition was creating the confusion by 'talking negatively' about it which is hurting the foreign policy of Pakistan. The minister was responding to the criticism by former speaker of Senate Raza Rabbani. Rabbani told the senate that CPEC Authority Ordinance had lapsed in June 2020 and now the projects under CPEC are being executed without any law. He accused the government of trying to give impunity to the chairman of CPEC through a bill.
Shibli Faraz conceded that currently there is no law for CPEC,but the government was working on a bill to regulate the CPEC.
Babar Awan expressed these remarks in the question-hour session of the upper house of the parliament. “Now the Pakistani government had got an opening and it can stress the US government to hand over Dr Aafia to Pakistan,” he added. He also told the senate that the Pakistani embassy is in touch with Dr Aafia through telephone. Awan suggested legal action could be taken against those who handed over Dr Aafia and other Pakistani citizens to the US.
Dr Aafia was indicted in 2010 by a US court in the case of shooting at US soldiers during interrogation in Afghanistan.
Separately, Information Minister Shibli Faraz warned the opposition against pleasing the enemies of Pakistan by making China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) controversial. He said that CPEC was an agreement between two countries, but the opposition was creating the confusion by 'talking negatively' about it which is hurting the foreign policy of Pakistan. The minister was responding to the criticism by former speaker of Senate Raza Rabbani. Rabbani told the senate that CPEC Authority Ordinance had lapsed in June 2020 and now the projects under CPEC are being executed without any law. He accused the government of trying to give impunity to the chairman of CPEC through a bill.
Shibli Faraz conceded that currently there is no law for CPEC,but the government was working on a bill to regulate the CPEC.