The United States has agreed to extradite Aafia Siddiqui – a Pakistani woman it had abducted and jailed – to her country under a prisoner exchange deal.
The US has offered Islamabad an agreement in which both sides will release each otherâ„¢s inmates. The US government agreed to send back Siddiqui after finalizing the deal.
The terms of the deal demand that Pakistan accept the ruling of a US court, in which Siddiqui was convicted on terror-related charges.
The Pakistani woman also has to complete the remaining of her prison term in Pakistan. The swap deal is likely to be signed soon.
Pakistanâ„¢s Interior Ministry has formed a task force to follow up on the US offer.
Siddiqui was sentenced to 86 years in prison after she was convicted of grabbing a US soldierâ„¢s assault rifle and trying to shoot a group of FBI agents and soldiers at an Afghan police compound in July 2008.
She denied the charge against her during the trial.
US officials also claim she is an al-Qaeda agent, but her family and many Pakistanis believe this is just a cover-up.
Siddiqui is being held at the notorious Federal Medical Center (FMC) in Carswell, Texas, where she is kept in the Special Housing Unit (SHU), which is the most severe confinement category.
Her release has become one of the top national issues in Pakistan. There have been numerous protests not only in Pakistan but many other countries for her release.
MSH/HSN/HMV
Republished with permission from: Press TV