While the drama about Musharraf's resignation is playing out in Pakistan, there are other profoundly important issues that deserve our attention. One of the most heated topics of debate in Pakistan is the case of Aafia Siddiqui. Siddiqui was educated at MIT and Brandeis, but now she is suspected of being linked to Al Qaeda.
Aafia Siddiqui went missing (code for being picked by Pakistan police and handed over to the Americans) from Karachi, Pakistan in March 2003, was arrested in Afghanistan on July 17, 2008 by the Americans and now she is accused of attempting to kill United States officers in Afghanistan.
Almost all the pundits, journalists and political leaders are outraged over this story and they are demanding that she be released and brought back to Pakistan. No one in Pakistan is ready to believe that she is capable of attacking the soldiers, or she is capable of being a terrorist, or an Al Qaeda supporter. Of course, it doesn't help that her photos that have surfaced show her extremely sick and weak. To add further fuel to the fire, the Americans have said that she was shot while they were attempting to arrest her. This story has all the elements of being a gift for the right wing nuts in Pakistan to augment their claims about American motives.
Interestingly, all others accused of being terrorists are being held at Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp, but Aafia, who is also accused of a) being an Al Qaeda supporter and a terrorist by definition, and b) attacking the U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan, is being charged within the American legal system.
After the headlines of her arrest appeared in Pakistan, she has become a national symbol of unity and a rallying cry for pride for the country. If she is convicted, anti American sentiment in Pakistan is going to get a new life. Her trail and her conviction would provide incredible rhetorical ammunition to those who are trying to break the mutually beneficial working relationship between Pakistan and the United States.
Bilal Qureshi
Washington, DC
