PTI raises concerns at US push for Prisoner Swap Agreement

Dr Shireen Mazari, Central Information Secretary PTI, Sunday raised some serious concerns regarding the US push for a Prisoner Swap Agreement with Pakistan. The US has said it would agree to “release” Dr Aafia Siddiqui into Pakistan’s custody and in exchange would seek the release of Dr Shakil Afridi.

However, Dr Mazari felt that there are serious issues over the US attaching two conditionalities for “releasing” Dr Aafia to Pakistan: one, that Pakistan accept she is a terrorist and should complete her sentence imprisoned in Pakistan; and, two that her trial in the US be accepted as fair and justified.

Dr Mazari stated that such conditionalities are unacceptable and she hoped the government would not accept any unilateral conditionalities being forced upon it by the US government which is under strong Congressional pressure to seek the release of Dr Afridi, a collaborator of the American government’s illegal activities in Pakistan, whom the US Congress wants to welcome as an American hero. 

Dr Mazari said if the prisoner swap agreement is to be an acceptable one it should be unconditional. If the US is demanding conditionalities then there must be mutual conditionalities in terms of serving prison terms and labelling of swapped prisoners as “terrorists” or “traitors”.

Mazari stated that the people of Pakistan want to see Dr Aafia return to Pakistan but not to be branded a “terrorist” by the government simply at US behest; nor to remain incarcerated because of a highly biased US trial and conviction.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=40977

Posted by Tahir Khan on Jul 21 2013. Filed under Latest News, National, Pakistan, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.