The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has issued a contempt notice to Pakistan’s federal cabinet for failing to submit a required report in the Dr Aafia Siddiqui case.
Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan made this decision during a hearing on July 21, 2025, concerning Dr Siddiqui’s health and repatriation from US prison. “I am issuing a contempt of court notice to every member of the federal cabinet,” the judge stated, scheduling the next session for the first working day after court holidays.
Dr Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist, has served over 14 years in US custody after receiving an 86-year sentence in 2010 for attempted murder and assault on US personnel in Afghanistan. She remains incarcerated at Carswell prison in Fort Worth, Texas. In January 2025, she requested a presidential pardon, calling her sentence a “blatant miscarriage of justice,” but former US President Joe Biden denied it.
Read:Dr. Aafia Siddiqui Faces Continued Sexual Harassment in Texas Prison, Lawyer Claims
During the hearing, Justice Ishaq criticised roster changes that delayed the case listing. “The chief justice did not get even 30 seconds to sign it?” he remarked, noting past uses of rosters for specific decisions. “Once again, administrative power has been used [to exercise] judicial power. I will not let justice face defeat. I will use my judicial powers to maintain the honour of the high court,” he asserted.
