The appeal for release from American prison and return to her home country of jailed Dr Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist serving an 86-year sentence in the United States, has been dismissed, her lawyer told the Islamabad High Court on Friday.

An IHC bench led by Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan heard the petition related to her release and return to the country.

According to her lawyer, former US president Joe Biden has rejected Dr Aafia’s plea for clemency. He also informed the court that the US has refused to negotiate a prisoner exchange agreement with Pakistan.

Days before Donald Trump’s inauguration, her attorney Clive Stafford Smith told Sky News that he urged Biden to grant her a pardon, having submitted a comprehensive 76,500-word dossier detailing her case.

Last year, a clemency petition seeking her release was submitted to the White House. Before that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif requested that US President Joe Biden pardon and release her

Aafia’s sister Dr Fozia and her American lawyer, Clive Smith, appeared in court via video link. The petitioner’s lawyer, Imran Shafiq, and the additional attorney general also attended the proceedings.

“America is showing us our worth,” Justice Ishaq remarked. The court observed that while the former US president pardoned his son, he did not release a prisoner belonging to Pakistan.

A report detailing the prime minister and foreign minister’s foreign visits was presented in court. A response was also submitted regarding the Pakistani ambassador’s absence from meetings concerning Dr Aafia.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also submitted a report containing answers to the court’s inquiries. The court adjourned the case hearing for two weeks following such discussions.

US court documents said that Dr Aafia was allegedly found with two kilogrammes of sodium cyanide concealed in moisturizer bottles when she was detained by US forces in Afghanistan in 2008.

In her interrogation, witnesses claim she seized a rifle and opened fire on US agents, shouting “Death to America” and expressing a desire to kill Americans. None of the soldiers were harmed, although Dr Aafia sustained injuries during the incident.

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At 52 years old, she gained notoriety as one of the world’s most wanted women due to her alleged connections to al-Qaeda’s leadership.

In 2010, a federal court in Manhattan sentenced her to 86 years in prison after convicting her of firing at US troops while in custody, along with six other related charges.

“I am… a victim of injustice, pure and simple. Every day is torture… it is not easy,” she said, “one day, Inshallah [God-willing], I will be released from this torment,” Dr Aafia told the British broadcaster on January 18, 2025.