Pakistan’s prime minister appeals to US for release of alleged al-Qaida member

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Siddiqui rose to notoriety after her conviction in 2010 on multiple charges, including attempting to kill American officials.​

Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif formally appealed to US President Joe Biden for the release of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, the Pakistani neuroscientist currently serving an 86-year prison sentence in the US for attempting to kill American officials in Afghanistan.


This development was revealed during a hearing at the Islamabad High Court on Friday when a state lawyer submitted a copy of Sharif’s letter.

The high court had asked the Pakistani government for a comprehensive report on diplomatic efforts to secure Siddiqui’s release. In response, the government presented a letter dated October 13 indicating a direct appeal to President Biden to reconsider Siddiqui’s case on humanitarian grounds.


Siddiqui is currently serving her sentence at a federal prison in Fort Worth, Texas, without the possibility of parole.

Letter to Biden​

In his letter to Biden, Sharif highlighted that Siddiqui’s incarceration has severely affected her mental and physical health, noting concerns for her well-being, including the possibility of self-harm.

Aafia Siddiqui is shown in this FBI combo photo released in Washington on May 26, 2004. (credit: REUTERS/FBI/HANDOUT)
Emphasizing his duty to protect Pakistani citizens, Sharif requested that Biden “exercise his authority to grant clemency and secure Siddiqui’s release on humanitarian grounds.” He said that millions of Pakistanis expected Biden to carry out this “act of kindness.”

Biden has not yet responded to Sharif’s letter. If Sharif manages to get Siddiqui released, that would be seen as a diplomatic victory for Pakistan.


Siddiqui rose to notoriety after her conviction in 2010 on multiple charges, including attempting to kill American officials. Born in Karachi, Pakistan, in 1972, Siddiqui moved to the US in 1990 on a student visa, eventually earning a doctorate in neuroscience from Brandeis University.

Siddiqui's past ​

As an undergraduate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she was involved in the Muslim Students Association. There, she raised funds for the Al-Kifah Refugee Center, which was later linked to al-Qaida.

After marrying Pakistani doctor Amjad Khan, she returned to Pakistan in 2002, divorced her first husband, and married Ammar al-Baluchi, a nephew of 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.


When Mohammed was captured in 2003, he identified Siddiqui as an al-Qaida courier. Siddiqui vanished in March 2003 after the FBI issued a global alert for her and her husband regarding possible connections to Osama bin Laden.

Siddiqui’s whereabouts were eventually traced to the US military base in Bagram, Afghanistan, where she was reportedly interrogated, tortured, and held in solitary confinement for five years—a claim the US denies. She came to be known as the “Gray Lady of Bagram.”