KARACHI -  Pasban-e-Pakistan President Altaf Shakoor on Sunday appealed to King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud to grant Saudi nationality to noted woman scientist Dr Aafia Siddiqui, and thus provide a face saving to the governments of Pakistan and the USA.

In a statement issued here, he said that the Saudi king had recently granted citizenship to world renowned Islamic preacher and inter-faith scholar of Indian origin Zakir Abdul Karim Naik, and demanded that such a generosity should also be extended to Aafia; an innocent mother, bearing the brunt of so-called war on terror.

Quoting the legal experts, he said they believed that Aafia was the most wronged woman on the planet today and justice must be done to her.

Altaf said that in view of the fact that the governments of Pakistan and the USA had failed to provide justice to Aafia, it was hoped that King Salman who is also the custodian of the two holy mosques would play his due role in ending victimisation and ordeals of this Muslim mother.

He said that even the US legal experts believed that there was miscarriage of justice in the case of Dr Aafia.

Pasban president recalled that none other, but Ramsey Clark, the former US attorney general, had said that Aafia was innocent and had fallen victim to the international politics.

Clark had said, “Dr Aafia Siddiqui was victimised by the international politics being played for power. I haven’t witnessed such bare injustice in my entire career. Neither did Dr Aafia kill anyone, nor did she attempt it. In fact she was shot thrice and should be released immediately.”

He also quoted noted UK lawyer Barrister Naseem Ahmed Bajwa, who had said, “I as a lawyer have seen many cases of injustice, but absolutely nothing on this scale. She should never, along with her three children, have been lifted from the streets of Karachi in a joint Pakistan/US operation. While most of the 800 men from Guantanamo have been released there has been no such end to the nightmare for Dr Aafia.”

Altaf requested that King Salman should grant the Saudi citizenship to Aafia so that she could spend the rest of her life along with her children in Saudi Arabia, adding this would also give some face saving to the administrations of the USA and Pakistan.

He opined that the repatriation of Aafia would also bring people of both the countries closer to each other.