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Awan wants to swap Davis with Dr. Aafia Siddiqui
[Arab News] Pakistain's federal law minister has called on the US authorities to exchange a US national currently facing trial for a double murder in Lahore for a Pak doctor who was sentenced to 86 years in jail in the US."We will demand the release of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui if America demands the release of Raymond Davis," said Federal Law Minister Babar Awan at a presser in Gujranwala on Sunday. Thirty-eight-year-old Aafia Siddiqui, a highly-educated Pak neurologist, is serving 86 years in prison after being found guilty of shooting at two US soldiers in dubious circumstances while in jug in Afghanistan. The case of Davis, who rubbed out two Paks in late January, has raised tensions between Pakistain and the US. The US government insists he enjoys diplomatic immunity and should be released. Awan's statement shows a different position than that adopted by the Zardari government, which says the courts will decide Davis' fate. Awan, who normally articulates the policy statements of President  Asif Ali President Ten PercentZardari ... sticky-fingered husband of the late Benazir Bhutto ... , has picked the line of the Jamaat-e-Islami, which has been demanding a prisoner exchange. President Zardari also recently canceled a visit to the US due to the case. Meanwhile, ...back at the ranch... Shah Mahmud Durrani was not inducted in the federal Cabinet as foreign minister because he reportedly gave an undertaking to the US administration for Davis' early extradition. Posted by: Fred 2011-02-14 |
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