KARACHI, Feb 18: Efforts for the repatriation of Dr Aafia Siddiqui are “moving in the right direction” and the US court trying her would again examine on February 23 her fitness to stand trial in view of her mental and physical condition, the ministry of external affairs informed the Sindh High Court on Wednesday.

The information was contained in the ministry’s comments submitted to a division bench comprising Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali and Justice Faisal Arab through Deputy Attorney-General Ashraf Khan Mughal.

The comments were sought by the bench in a petition moved by Intikhab Alam Suri of the Human Rights Network through Advocate Mohammad Iqbal Aqeel.

Dr Siddiqui’s sister attended Wednesday’s proceedings. The hearing was adjourned to March 13.In its comments, the ministry of defence said the issue was already being addressed by the government of Pakistan through the external affairs ministry, which was competent to offer comments. The ministry of interior said according to its information “all-out efforts were being made at the diplomatic level” but the current position could better be explained by the external affairs ministry. It said an identical petition was being heard by the Islamabad High Court, which has summoned it on Feb 25, and the SHC proceedings should be stayed to avoid multiplicity of proceedings.

On the basis of information received by it from the US and Afghan authorities, the external affairs ministry dealt with the matter with effect from July 17, 2008, when Dr Siddiqui was arrested in Ghazni, Afghanistan, and said the interior ministry might explain the circumstances of her disappearance from Karachi and ascertain the whereabouts of her two missing children. Dr Siddiqui, according to information received by the ministry, was arrested “in the vicinity of the Ghazni governor’s residence while acting suspiciously”. US officials attempted to question her at the Ghazni police headquarters but she seized a weapon and fired at the US personnel. A US soldier returned fire and she was hit in the abdomen. She received “prompt medical attention and her injury was not life threatening”.

Dr Siddiqui was turned over to the US authorities on August 3, 2008. She was flown to the US where she had been charged with “unlawfully, willingly and knowingly” using “a deadly and dangerous” weapon to attack US soldiers and FBI personnel. The ministry said it was in touch with the US embassy in Islamabad on a regular basis while Pakistan’s ambassador in Washington had taken up the matter with the US leadership “at the highest level”. The US authorities have been requested to ensure Dr Siddiqui’s medical treatment by a female doctor and her hospitalisation whenever advised. Regular consular access should be provided to the Pakistan embassy/government officials and members of the detainee’s family.

The US has also been requested for repatriation of Dr Siddiqui and her children in view of the lack of supporting evidence to prove the charges of assault and attempted murder brought against her, her poor health and in the interest of bilateral relations. Pakistan’s lobbyist was also pursuing the matter with US lawmakers.

Responding through its state department and embassy, the US said Dr Siddiqui was given proper medical care since transfer of her custody to its officials. Her condition was being monitored regularly. She was given access by a female physician and would be admitted to hospital whenever required. Consular access was being provided to the Pakistan embassy in Washington while the request for her repatriation “can only be processed under the US legal framework as she was facing charges in a court of law”.

US officials, however, facilitated repatriation of her eldest son, Ahmad, from Kabul on Sept 15, 2008, and the Afghan authorities handed him over to Dr Siddiqui’s family in Pakistan. The US authorities have no information about her missing children, named by her as Maryam and Sulaiman.

Concluding, the ministry said efforts for Dr Siddiqui’s repatriation “seem to be moving in the right direction”. A forensic evaluation report of Nov 6, 2008, compiled by the FMC Carswell Hospital, Texas, “determined that she was not currently competent to proceed as a result of her mental disease”, which renders her unable to understand the nature and consequences of the proceedings against her “to assist properly in her defence”. The report prompted the Pakistan embassy to make a formal request for repatriation on Nov 18, 2008.

Two ‘status’ conferences have been held by the US trial court to consider the report. At the conference held on Dec 18, 2008, the defence and prosecution agreed to postpone the case to February 23, 2009. The defence agreed to the postponement to obtain a report from a private forensic expert in support of the evaluation that Dr Siddiqui was not fit to stand trial, the ministry said.