A protest being held calling for the release of Dr. Aafiya Siddiqui Photo Radio Islam
Pakistan – “Everything it seems in our life is bitter-sweet. Is it really good news or is it another one of the ploys that we have had to deal with over the past year? There have been so many times where we’ve been given hope but really nothing concrete has come about.”
After being separated for 20 years, Dr. Fowzia Siddiqui has been granted a 5 year US visa to meet her sister Dr. Aafia Siddiqui. After so many years of broken promises, she doesn’t know if this will hold and if it does, it just raises more questions for her and her family.
“The question is very simple, what was the hurdle and why was the visa not issued to me then? Was it guilt by association and what changed now? Is there something I need to be concerned about or is it just a ploy like a lot of other people who went missing? Why was my visa put on hold?”
While Siddiqui has finally got a visa to visit her sister in the US, she has been removed from her guest list. Fighting to contain her tears, Siddiqui questioned why she was even going to visit her sister and what possible good news she could bring to Aafia.
“If I can’t see her, what’s the point of me going? If I can’t even hold my sister, if I can’t give her a hug, I don’t know what to say. After 20 years, just tell me, what would you tell your sister? I’ve come after 20 years and I’m leaving you here. Locked up in this miserable place. When I see her and the way she is, will I be able to bear that? To leave her like that? Is that even humanly possible? Is that even psychologically possible?”
Living without answers for all this time
For the past 20 years the family have had to live without any answers about Aafia. Only that which different lawyers have passed on to them. Even her own brother, who resides in the US, has been unable to see her since 2014. In that time, Siddiqui has credited her late mother for always being there for the family and being their pillar of strength.
“The why is the million dollar question. My mother gave us the strength to carry on. She was the answer to our questions. She was the pillar of faith, steadfastness and hope. Her faith and her trust in the Quraan and Allah (SWT) was so great. She bore no malice … It’s not easy. After my mum’s passing, we learnt that pettiness does not help. Thinking of anything vengeful is only going to destroy us and no one else. We’ve learnt to let things go and everything happens for a purpose.”
Aafias’ children get their strength from the knowledge that they were also once locked up but now they are leading normal lives. Siddiqui mentioned that Aafias’ son is now a qualified doctor. Both her children have led normal lives, attended school and university and this gives them strength that one day their mother will be with them.
During the hearing for the visa Additional Attorney General (AAG) Munawwar Iqbal Duggal said that Siddiqui will be accompanied by the US counsel Clive Stafford Smith. Together they will meet Aafia in US jail during May 29 to 31. However, since her own brother has been unable to visit since 2014, Siddiqui is unsure if she will be able to meet her sister. Should things work out, her next step will be to apply for visas for Aafiyas’ children so they can finally see their mother.
To hear more from Dr. Fowzia Siddiqui on the situation, listen to the podcast here:
