ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a petition seeking repatriation of Dr Aafia Siddiqui from the US, holding that the case does not come under the apex court’s jurisdiction.
The petition filed by Dr Fauzia Siddiqui, sister of Dr Aafia Siddiqui, was heard by a three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar.
On a previous hearing, the court had admitted the petition for hearing.
Fauzia had also submitted a report presented by the consul general of Pakistan in Texas over the condition of Dr Aafia. During the hearing, the chief justice noted that how the top court of Pakistan could direct the US authorities to repatriate Dr Aafia to Pakistan as it does not fall in the purview of a court in Pakistan.
He rhetorically asked how Pakistan can issue orders to a sovereign country, adding, “What will we do if the US throws out our order.” Expressing his inability, the chief justice said neither the court nor the caretaker government could do anything for repatriation of Dr Aafia.
The court directed the petitioner to approach a US court for her grievances. “We took up the matter only to know whether Dr Aafia is alive or not. It’s learnt that she is alive and now we cannot do anything in this matter,” the chief justice noted.
Published in Daily Times, June 26th 2018.
