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Islamabad: US authorities have allowed Pakistani diplomats to visit a female Al Qaida suspect recently captured in Afghanistan and taken to the United States after she allegedly tried to kill her interrogators, the Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.
Two diplomats visited Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani citizen educated in the United States, over the weekend at a detention facility in New York, ministry spokesman Mohammad Sadiq said. Pakistani state media reported she had requested a copy of the Quran, religiously appropriate food, and assurances of a fair trial.
"Pakistan will provide all possible assistance to her," Sadiq told The Associated Press. Siddiqui, 36, who has been described as a possible "fixer" for Al Qaida, was picked up in Afghanistan on July 17.
Landmarks
According to a US criminal complaint, she was carrying documents containing recipes for explosives and chemical weapons and describing "various landmarks in the United States, including New York City". The complaint also alleges Siddiqui carried "chemical substances in gel and liquid form that were sealed in bottles and glass jars". It did not elaborate.
The day after Siddiqui was detained, as a team of FBI agents and US military officers prepared to question her, she allegedly snatched a soldier's rifle and pointed it at an Army captain. She fired two shots but missed because an interpreter pushed the weapon aside, authorities allege. She was wounded when a soldier fired at her in response. She was given medical aid and later flown to New York to be formally charged in a federal court.
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