Aafia Movement leader and sister of Dr Aafia Siddiqui has said that under the Human Rights Article 5 of the United Nations Declaration, no person could be tortured, meted out inhuman and disgracing treatment or punishment. She asked why there are two standards of human rights in the case of Pakistani mother Dr Aafia Siddiqui. She was addressing a protest demo in front of the Karachi Press Club (KPC) here on Saturday on the occasion of the International Human Rights Day. She regretted that Dr Aafia has still been facing torture, inhuman and disgracing treatment. She asked whether the declarations of the United Nations on human rights were an eye wash. A large number of human rights activists and civil society leaders attended the protest demonstration. Carrying portraits of Aafia, they chanted slogans for her release. Human Rights Network (HRN) Karachi Division chapter president Intikhab Alam Soori said that Aafia was the symbol of national pride and respect. He said that illegal and prolonged detention of Aafia has shaken the world conscience. He said, ‘If justice is not doled out to innocent people like Aafia, it is no use to observe the international day of human rights’. He said Aafia was the victim of the state-sponsored injustice in which not a single country, but two countries were involved. He expressed serious concern that Aafia was even deprived of the facility of contacting her family on telephone, which showed that Aafia was being meted out inhuman treatment in the American jail. He demanded of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to take steps for securing early release of Aafia as per his promise. He appealed to US President Barak Obama to take the decision of the release and repatriation of Aafia on humanitarian grounds, as well as, exchange petition. He said that the release of Aafia would strengthen the values of human rights and justice in the whole world.Human Rights lawyer Sahia Ahmed Burni said that those talking about uphold of the human rights were involved in the worst violations of these rights, themselves. Passage of 5000 days of the illegal detention of Aafia was not a joke. It was a serious matter to keep a mother away from her children even for five minutes. ‘Aafia is not being meted out treatment even as per the human rights and women rights laws of the United States of America’. The silence of the Pakistani government over this matter was just shameful.Advocate Burni appealed to US President Barak Obama to consider the exchange petition for repatriation of Dr Aafia on humanitarian grounds and release Aafia Siddiqui, adding this generous gesture of the USA would help in stopping violations of the human rights.
