US tells Pak "terror suspect" Dr Aafia's children not in its custody

Islamabad, Aug 22 : In response to Pakistan's last week written note asking for immediate repatriation of Pakistani-American "terror suspect" Dr Aafia Siddiqui's children to Pakistan, the US administration has reportedly said that the three children were not in their custody.

"On our demand that the children of Dr Aafia Siddiqui be returned to Pakistan, we have been told by the US authorities that the children are not in US custody," Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Sadiq said at his weekly briefing on Thursday.

Sadiq said that the Pakistan government would continue to look for the children, and added that the Foreign Office was seeking consular access for the visiting parliamentarians and other officials from Pakistan.

"There have been no indications from the US about the possible whereabouts of the children," the Dawn quoted the spokesman as saying.

The spokesman added that it had been misreported by the media that Dr Aafia was a Ph.D in biosciences or neurology, "while the correct position is she is an educationist with a Ph.D from the Brandeis University in Boston." He further said that her education in no way could have enabled her to engage in chemical or biological warfare.

ANI