The claimed sexual assault on Dr. Aafiia Siddiqui was ordered by Interim Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar to be brought to the attention of the US State Department on Thursday, according to a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA).
Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch told the journalists at the weekly briefing that the information about the jailed Pakistani citizen was of a “very serious nature.” She also reassured them that Aafia’s safety and the safety of all Pakistanis was her top concern.
Yesterday, Dr. Aafia Siddiqui’s lawyer, Clive Stafford Smith, said on the social media site X (formerly Twitter) that she had been sexually assaulted twice while she was in US jail.
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Mumtaz talked about Pakistan’s “war on terror” and said that the world has accepted what the country has done to fight terrorism and the funding of terrorism. She also said that Afghanistan wasn’t the only thing that was being talked about at the talks with American officials this week.
The spokesperson said she had just seen the story that Afghanistan’s interior minister Sirajuddin Haqqani was seen with a valid Pakistani passport and would respond “once the facts are known.”
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shahzad Akbar is said to have been attacked with acid in London. She said that he has not asked for help from the Pakistani high commission in the UK.
Akbar said on November 26 that a “acidic liquid” was aimed at his home in Hertfordshire, where he is currently living in exile with his family.
During her news conference, Mumtaz also strongly criticized India’s leaders and Home Minister Amit Shah for their “irresponsible” comments about Kashmir.
Shah had told the Indian parliament that Azad Kashmir in Pakistan “is an integral part of India.” The Foreign Office (FO) said that the Kashmir problem is still an open question at the United Nations (UN).
Baloch strongly opposed Israel’s use of force against civilians during its brutal attack on Gaza and said that Islamabad would “continue to Israel’s use of force in Gaza.”
