By NNN-PTI,
New York : A Pakistani woman, who mysteriously disappeared from Karachi five years back, having alleged links with the Al Qaeda, has been arrested on charges of attempted murder and assault of US soldiers and FBI agents working in Afghanistan.
Thirty-six year old Aafia Saddiqui, a neuroscientist trained in US, who was arrested here after being brought from Afghanistan last evening, will be produced before a court tomorrow, South District of New York Attorney Michael J Garcia said. If convicted, she could get prison sentence of 20 years on each of the two charges.
Saddiqui, who studied at the Brandeis University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, had disappeared from her house while visiting her parents at Karachi along with her three children, evoking allegations from her family members and human rights group that she was being illegally detained.
American officials, on the other hand alleged that the woman aroused suspicion while she was loitering outside Ghazni Governor’s compound in Afghanistan on July 17 this year.
Police found description of various land marks of the United States, including New York, documents describing making of explosives and excerpts from the Anarchist’s Arsenal on searching her, they said.
On July 18, a party of American personnel, including two FBI agents and a US Army Warrant Officer, arrived at the Afghan facility where Siddiqui was being held.
Shortly after the meeting began, the woman picked up the Warrant Officer’s rifle and pointed it directly at the Captain, the complaint said, adding, she fired at least two shots but no one was hit. The Warrant Officer returned fire hitting her at least once.