After her sentencing, US media reports highlighted bogus government charges, ignoring the truth and Aafia's horrific treatment. CBS, for example, affirmed allegations that she's an "Al Qaeda supporter" and "cold-blooded radical." CNN noted her "Anarchist's Arsenal." ABC News called her "Lady Qaeda."
Wall Street Journal writer Chad Bray referred to her alleged "mass casualty attack" plan on New York landmarks, and for Rupert Murdoch's New York Post, she's a "terror mom (and) reputed Al Qaeda associate," a Bruce Golding headline saying, "Judge throws book at Pakistani plotter....'terror mom' has been eighty-sixed."
Note the difference in Pakistan. The entire country is outraged - in Karachi (Aafia's home city), Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Faisalabad, Hyderabad, Lehore, Quetta, Peshawar, Multan, and elsewhere.
Dawn.com headlined "Pakistanis furious over Aafia Siddiqui's sentence," saying:
In Karachi, "Pakistanis burned tires, (Obama effigies), and chanted anti-US slogans after a New York (hanging) judge handed down an 86-year sentence" on bogus charges. Her case "has long stirred passions in Pakistan....where anti-American sentiment is (deservedly) widespread."
"Many Pakistanis believe the US abducted Siddiqui and kept her in a secret prison for years as it pursued its war on terror." News of her "harsh sentence immediately sparked anger and disbelief." In Peshawar, angry protestors burned tires and shouted "Down with America!" Pakistan's president and prime minister were also named, and "Some hit a portrait of....Obama with their shoes."
Islamabad students were also outraged, shouting "Crush America, Siddiqui is our sister," and "We will bring her back."
More in Multan where dozens of lawyers and activists blocked traffic, shouting "Down with America," and burning effigies of Obama and former Pakistani despot Pervez Musharra.
In Peshawar, thousands of political, social, and religious activists protested on city streets, holding banners and placards condemning the sentence. They demanded Aafia's release and end to US Waziristan drone attacks.
A supportive Pakistan Times editorial called America "an authoritarian, arrogant superpower," and Aafia's sentence "unheard of....people will be waiting to see how (Obama reacts). Only time will tell if the US president will step in to mitigate (this outrage) by either pardoning Dr. Aafia or sending her back to Pakistan to serve at least part of her sentence in her home country."
"Dr. Aafia may very well become the poster-child for increased hatred against the US and more sympathy for the militants," a possibility both countries should consider.
Aafia's sister, Fauzia, called the sentence "a slap in the face of our rulers, who have pledged and made promises to bring" her back.
Addressing a supportive rally, she said they failed miserably to help Aafia. "The sentence bears testimony to the fact that this government is a puppet of the US. We are peaceful people, and our aim is to bring back Aafia."
Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit expressed "disappoint(ment with) the sentence and sad that our efforts....did not succeed. We are still in touch with the US administration to see what possible options are available. We are not giving up." At issue is whether they ever tried, given the ties between the countries "in the fight against Terrorist militancy...."
The International Tribune reported that Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik said government efforts "will surely bring (her back), but it needs time to do it."
Pakistan's US ambassador, Hussain Haqqani, said "the government took every possible step for (her) safe release," adding that efforts will continue.
Pakistan's Jamiat Uleme-e-Islam Party (JUI) chief, Fazalur Rehman, cancelled his US trip in protest, saying "the punishment of Doctor Aafia has added to the list of American crimes, and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif said he, too, "would make all efforts for Dr. Aafia's release," adding that "the entire nation was praying for her safe return."
Tekreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Party chairman, Imran Khan, condemned the verdict as "unethical and inhuman," warning it could inflame the entire Muslim world. He also announced launch of a countrywide protest, saying Pakistanis won't tolerate this outrage.
"Aafia is the daughter of the nation," he said, "and all-our efforts should be made for her early return." PTI plans protest rallies, seminars and meeting throughout the country, its campaign to continue until Affia's back home.
Farooq Sattar, Parliamentary leader of Pakistan's third largest political party, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), condemned Aafia's sentence, announced protests, and said MQM officials would meet with America's ambassador to demand her release. MQM head, Altaf Hussain, also wants her released and sent home, saying, if in power, MQM "would have immediately severed ties with the US and its allies...."
In America, Aafia's a "terrorist," in Pakistan a national hero, at least on the country's streets, if not the halls of power, despite the above rhetoric.
For their part, Aafia's family vowed to launch a "movement" for her release, Fauzia telling reporters that all of Pakistan would agitate for her. "I was alone when I started the campaign to release my sister, but from now on it will be the Aafia movement as the whole nation is with me."
Qazi Muhammad, Pakistan Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president asked "Why is our individual and collective conscience as a nation silent on the maltreatment of Dr. Aafia, the daughter of the nation?" He said an SCBA delegation would meet with her family, and offered to defend her in the US pro bono.
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