Civil Rights
Dr. Aafia’s Son, Mohammad Ahmed Freed, with Aunt
Good news alhamdulilah, as reported on the usually reliable Dawn Newspaper. The burning question now is where are the two other children??
I reiterate what the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan co-chairman Iqbal Haider said that the lack of effort by the American government to do anything for these children, who are US CITIZENS, is a violation of everything that the US stands for, its shameful, hypocritical and antithesis to the fabric of this nation. What is the fault of these poor children? Have they stopped being Americans because their parents ALLEGEDLY did something wrong? This has to be one of the most shameful incidents in American history!
ISLAMABAD, Sept 15: A 12-year-old son of neuroscientist Dr Aafia Siddiqui was handed over to his aunt Fauzia Siddiqui here on Monday after years of detention in a US military base in Afghanistan.
Touching scenes were witnessed when Mohammad Ahmed, wearing white Shalwar Qameez, was brought to Dr Fauzia Siddiqui’s house in Sector F-7/1 amid tight security. He was warmly hugged by his aunt.
According to published reports, Ahmed was only six when he and his mother, a brother and a sister were abducted from Karachi in 2003. Later they were reportedly handed over to US authorities.
“He is traumatised and quite afraid but seems to be in good health,” Dr Fauzia told journalists after the boy had been handed over to her by officials of the interior ministry and intelligence agencies.
She gave a written statement to the officials expressing her gratitude to the nation, President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, PM’s Adviser on Interior Rehman Malik, Interior Secretary Syed Kamal Shah and the National Assembly and Senate for getting the boy freed.
Dr Fauzia said: “Ahmed is mentally disturbed and so far he has said nothing about what had happened to him in custody.”
She suggested that he should undergo a thorough check-up to determine his health condition.
The boy was handed over by the Afghan government to Pakistani officials in Kabul earlier on Monday.
Pakistan’s Press Counsellor in Afghanistan Naeem Khan told the PTV that Mohammad was in good physical and mental health and “he is OK and fine”.
Answering a question about the other two children (son and daughter) of Dr Aafia, he said only Mohammad Ahmed was in the custody of Afghanistan and he had no information about the other children.
The boy arrived at the Benazir International Airport in Islamabad from Kabul in a PIA flight and was taken to his aunt’s residence. Security officials did not allowed journalists to talk to him at the airport.
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan co-chairman Iqbal Haider said that the daughter of Dr Aafia was also in Afghanistan. He regretted that despite having US nationality, the US government did nothing for the release of its four citizens. “This is severe violation of the US laws and constitution.”
He said that earlier the US and Afghan governments had denied the presence of Mohammad Ahmed in Afghanistan but some Afghan citizens had informed Dr Fauzia that he was in custody of US troops at the Bagram base.
HRCP Director I.A. Rehman urged the government to get the other two children of Dr Aafia released.
Agencies add: “Under the presidential order of Hamid Karzai, we hand over Ali Hassan to Pakistan authorities,” Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman Sultan Ahmad Baheen told reporters in Kabul, naming the boy as Ali Hassan and not as Mohammad Ahmed.
“We hope this step should symbolise friendly ties with our neighbouring nation Pakistan,” he said.
Mr Baheen said: “The boy was kept in a guest-house like a guest. He was not a prisoner.”
He said Dr Aafia had adopted the child in 2005 after he lost his parents, a doctor and an engineer, in the 2005 earthquake in Kashmir.
Afghan police said they had arrested Dr Aafia and her son Ali Hassan outside the governor’s office in Ghazni province in July after becoming suspicious of her behaviour.
US soldiers in Afghanistan later took Dr Aafia under their custody after she allegedly grabbed a US warrant officer’s rifle during an interrogation session and fired at them, US officials said.
While Dr Aafia was flown to New York to face federal charges of assault and attempted murder, the boy remained in Afghan custody prompting calls by Pakistan and rights group for his release.
Until her arrest in July, Dr Aafia had been declared as missing by rights groups since she left her parents’ house in Karachi in March 2003.
In 2004, Dr Aafia was identified by the FBI as an “Al Qaeda operative and facilitator who posed a clear and present danger to America.”
She was married to a nephew of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the accused mastermind of the Sept 11 attacks. Her husband was captured in 2003 and is now held at the Guantanamo Bay.
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Hukum
September 16, 2008 at 12:16 PM
http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/specials/1725_alih_sen/index.shtml
more pictures, Al-Hamdulilah, he has safely return. Any news on the other two kids…?
AbuAbdAllah, the Houstonian
September 16, 2008 at 5:39 PM
Takbir!!! La hawla wa la quwatta illa billah! What a great day. :)
Hidaya
September 16, 2008 at 6:25 PM
Geo news had a headline stating that he might not be Afiya’s son rather some random Afghan kid…I believe their reason was because he doesnt remember anything and DNA is yet to be done…etc etc
Umm Reem
September 16, 2008 at 10:01 PM
huh??!
what?!
is her family saying anything about this, confirming/denying it?
sincethestorm
September 17, 2008 at 4:19 AM
i don’t understand how she can adopt a child in 2005 when she disappeared in 2003? doesn’t make sense
Amad
September 17, 2008 at 5:33 AM
I think the adoption claims are bogus, created by afghans/cia.
What it does seem to suggest is that the kid may not be dr. Aafia’s and they’re setting stage for a DNA mismatch…kind of like what Hidaya alluded to. I really hope that he is the son, but only Allah knows. May Allah destroy those who hatch evil plots. What awful games these people are playing!
AbuAbdAllah, the Houstonian
September 17, 2008 at 9:12 AM
innalhamdolillah. bismillah. let us not give in to too fretted speculation nor start asking the family to defend itself from the claims of Dr. Aafia’s captors — not when those captors refuse to be forthcoming with evidence, when they conduct torture and exonerate themselves by calling it by other names, and not when the news story reports that the boy is with his mother’s sister now.
let the family care for this child and settle for themselves what has happened. there is no doubt that the truth will out.
so if your heart is filled with worry or with doubt, seek steadfastness from Allah; remember the words of Yakub alayhis salam, “fasabrun jameelan,” then steadfastness/patience is (more) beautiful (than forsaking reliance on Allah).
and continue to make dua for Dr. Aafia, for her two other missing children, and for all the Muslims who are held without justice and/or in inhuman conditions, whether they be men or women, children, adult, or elderly, hale or infirm, none of those on whom injustice has been done deserves to be forsaken by any Muslim.
indeed, rather it is those of us who are free who will be held to account:
May Allah forgive us for what we owe these Muslims, and may He Guide any who can do more — whether demonstrations, vigils, dua, public speeches and letters, anything that is better than abject silence — to what is better than their inaction.
Bint Bashir
September 17, 2008 at 5:37 PM
The boy with Aafias family is her son, Alhumdulilah.
There is no word on her other 2 children, may Allah protect them and return them home soon, Ameen.
I think its fair to say you should not believe everything you read, cageprisoners site is the place to go on solid information on such matters, remember they want to distort this case as much as possible, and damage Aafias name as much as the can, to srengthen their own case.
But what they forget is that they plan, but Allah plans, and He is the best of planners.
AbuAbdAllah, the Houstonian
September 17, 2008 at 8:13 PM
Jazak Allah khayr Bint Bashir for that confirmation of the good news we received in this article.
A friend has sent me a link to an article, and I want to share it here.
“What It Feels Like…to Be a Prison Guard at Guantánamo Bay” Warning, the article is on the site esquire.com, and that means much of the content on the page is simply put, haram. But the article itself should be read. It is the experience of a soldier who enlisted at the age of 17 in 2001.
There’s also a link at the end of the article, too: “What It Feels Like…to Be a Prisoner at Guantánamo Bay” Same warning. This is the experience of former prisoner Murat Kurnaz. According to this much briefer article, he was imprisoned for five years.
Qas
September 17, 2008 at 9:57 PM
An easy way to get around the haramness is:
Firefox: Click on Tools->Options->content->take off the tick beside “Load images automatically”
Internet explorer: Clik on Tools->Internet options->Advanced. go down the list and uncheck show pictures and show animations.
Bint Bashir
September 18, 2008 at 1:19 PM
This paper is a must read by Brother Babar Ahmed while in captivity as he is to this day
http://www.kalamullah.com/Books/Words%20of%20Wisdom%20from%20Behind%20Bars.pdf
Pingback: Friday Links — September 19, 2008 « Muslimah Media Watch
Hidaya
September 19, 2008 at 10:33 PM
Her next court hearing is on Monday, September 22, 2008 @ 2:30 inshaAllah
Amad
September 21, 2008 at 12:06 AM
Here’s a video of Dr. Aafia’s sister, Fauzia, meeting with the press. It’s great to see some cheer in her life and her voice:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yk65-30Knbk
Another video here with scenes of Fauzia and Ahmed::
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EogFW2GLozQ
mulsimah
September 21, 2008 at 2:29 PM
salaam.. MashAllah she seems so happy , JazakAllahu kair for the link to the video! She is sooo patient with the press, unfortuantely i read an article in cageprisoners that said the kids been having nightmares and loss of memory. Im glad that shes a psychiatrist so she will know how to deal with him. One thing I dont understand is that shes always on the news, but I never saw aafias brother doing nething? Allahualim