The government is hoping to succeed where the two previous ones failed. Namely in bringing Dr Aafia Siddiqui back to Pakistan; thereby bringing to an end years of incarceration in a Texas jail.

Yet the people of this country demand more than casual commitments made by the current leadership about how they will try and do the needful. After all, the neuroscientist has been in effective American custody since she was picked up in Afghanistan a decade ago. In 2010, she was sentenced by a New York court to 86 years in prison. Charges included two attempted murder counts vis-à-vis US military personnel. There have long been allegations that she was a member of Al Qaeda.

Be all that as it may, one thing is clear: Dr Aafia has never been served due process. From the time that the Americans picked her up — a Pakistani national in Afghanistan — and spirited her away to the US. This was a point stressed by Imran Khan in an interview with British journalist and former Taliban captive Yvonne Ridley. It was at the time of PPP rule under the stewardship of Asif Ali Zardari. Back then, the PTI chief went on record to lambast Gen (rtd) Pervez Musharraf for dragging the country into the GWOT. He also made much of how the latter had admitted to voluntarily renditioning hundreds of Pakistani nationals to the Americans; for cool hard cash.

Now that he is Prime Minister, Khan has the opportunity to right this wrong. To do what it takes to have Dr Aafia returned. As a symbol of hope for all the families who have, over the years, suffered the disappearances of loved ones. Nevertheless, this will likely be easier said than done. Not least because of competing legal systems both here and in the US. Thus experts believe that the best way forward would be securing a presidential pardon. Yet given the state of the bilateral relationship — this anything but a slam dunk. Though when the top American diplomat for this region was in town last week there was talk of putting an end to viewing Pakistan through the exclusive prism of Afghan security. For some, this is enough to offer hope when it comes to resetting the bilateral relationship.

However, some pundits argue that Pakistan has to date never put in a formal request for Dr Aafia’s extradition. There have even been rumours that Islamabad refused a prisoner swap between the neuroscientist and CIA operative Raymond Davis. Ditto when it came to Brigadier Bowe Bergdhal, a US national, who at the time was being held by the Taliban. Fast-forward to the present and there is now speculation that Dr Shakeel Afridi of the fake CIA-run polio programme, which led the Americans to Bin Laden, could now be in the running.

Whatever the case maybe, it is important that Dr Aafia come home. After all, there are legitimate concerns over her being held in a federal prison especially for female inmates with special medical and mental health needs. Yet it cannot be ruled out that her arrival could provoke unrest; directed against the Pakistani state. For there are certain elements that may well wish to exploit long-held murmurings — contending that the authorities here transferred her directly into US hands — to further destabilise the country. That being said, the neuroscientist deserves due process; regardless of however belated this may be.

And while a direct prisoner swap or, even, a presidential pardon will circumvent all norms of justice-by-the-book — these are the best offers on the table. For Washington will not wish to lift the lead on its clandestine dealings in the Af-Pak region. As such, the PTI government must settle for nothing less than having the country’s most high-proile political prisoner firmly on Pakistan soil. *

Published in Daily Times, November 11th 2018.