Humans have created so much artificial light that the light of stars begins to fade away slowly and gradually; such is the story of Aafiya Siddiqui, a luminous shining star, who was effaced from the sky, unnoticed in the busyness of worldly activities and materialistic life.

Aafiya Siddiqui, born in Pakistan to a Sunni Muslim family, studied in the United States starting in 1990. She obtained a BS from MIT and a PhD in neuroscience from Brandeis University in 2001.

Later, she returned to her homeland, Pakistan, but disappeared on her way to Karachi airport in 2003 with her three children. She was allegedly detained for five years at Bagram with her children; she was the only female prisoner, known to the male detainees as “Prisoner 650.” The media dubbed her the “Mata Hari of al-Qaida” or the “Grey Lady of Bagram.” Yvonne Ridley, a British journalist and author, says that Siddiqui is the “Grey Lady of Bagram” – a ghostly female detainee who kept prisoners awake “with her haunting sobs and piercing screams.”

In 2005, male prisoners were so agitated by her plight that they went on a hunger strike for six days. But if we put some light on Raymond Davis, who, in Pakistan, cold-bloodedly murdered three people in the street out of the blue, only because he was angry, and got away with impunity, being titled a hero in the USA.

Whereas Aafiya, who was accused of firing a gun at US soldiers without injuring them, was given a severe punishment and titled “Lady Al-Qaida.”

Were those Pakistanis killed by Raymond Davis not human? Are Americans celestial beings who can get away with whatever they do, or do they possess a rare bloodline that gives them superiority over others?

Aafiya killed nobody but was instead shot. The forensic report showed no fingerprints on the gun, and shell casing and bullet debris were nowhere to be found. Neither was the gun fired nor anyone got shot. All the forensic evidence cleared her, yet they covered it up and locked her up for 86 years for a crime she didn’t commit. Even Judge Berman could not charge her with terrorism because none of it was true; all those stories were bullshit and yellow journalism.

As US attorney Clive Stafford Smith described it in simple words, “Aafiya’s problem is that she is a powerless woman in a prison run by Americans who—at best—care nothing for her.”

In a nutshell, she was targeted because she was a brilliant Muslim woman whose idea was to bring change, unaware that what appears as a revolution in the North and the West echoes as atrocity in the South and the East.

If she is to be blamed, the USA lacks the rightful authority to seize control and detain her in that prison. Her case should have proceeded in accordance with the international constitution in Pakistan.

Isn’t it a gross violation of human rights and an abuse of feminism? Where are these feminists and human rights leaders? Are they asleep because celestial beings will unleash their wrath on them?

To cut a long story short, it’s a slap in Muslims’ faces. She was a Hifz-e-Quran who is being tortured in a foreign country, and these Muslims have turned a blind eye to her and have done nothing to get her justice, who has already been unjustly deprived of 20 years of her life.

On the other hand, Muslim leaders have become pawns of celestial beings who will do everything to curry their favor, even if it means turning a blind eye to injustice and violation of laws.

However, the hope of unlocking her freedom hinges upon the unity of Muslims worldwide, a voice that can sway those in authority to intervene; yet, the crucial key to unlocking her freedom lies solely in the collaborative actions of the Pakistani government. If not, then such stars will turn away from us and leave us in the shadow of regret forever.

TAHIR JAMALI,

Nawabshah.