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ISLAMABAD: An Islamabad High Court (IHC) bench, formed to hear a plea seeking release of Pakistani neuroscientist Dr. Aafia Saddiqui who has been incarcerated in the US, was dissolved on Monday after Justice Inaam Ameen Minhas declined to hear the petition and urged the formation of a larger bench, Pakistani state media reported.

Siddiqui, a Pakistani national, is currently serving an 86-year prison sentence in the United States after being convicted in 2010 of attempted murder of US personnel in Afghanistan. Her trial and detention have long sparked public outcry in Pakistan, with successive governments under pressure to secure her repatriation.

Last week, the IHC withdrew the plea, filed by Siddiqui’s sister Fowzia seeking her release and repatriation to Pakistan, from Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan and reassigned it to Justice Minhas, according to Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper.

The move came after Justice Khan ordered to process contempt notices to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his entire cabinet for not complying with the high court’s earlier orders and failing to submit the government’s response in the case.

“The IHC new bench to hear case pertaining to Dr. Aafia Siddiqui was dissolved on Monday after Justice Minhas sent file to the chief justice for formation of a larger bench,” the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported.

At the outset of Monday’s proceedings, Imran Shafiq, the counsel of the petitioner, contended before the court that the matter had become “quite complicated.”

To which, Justice Minhas said his decision regarding the Master of Roster of the chief justice was available.

“My decision is that the Master of Roster is the chief justice, the second opinion is that he is not,” APP quoted the judge as telling the petitioner’s counsel.

“Now due to two opinions, I am sending this matter to the larger bench. Who is the Master of Roster, this larger bench will decide?“

The hearing was adjourned until further notice.

The development came more than a month after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Dr. Fowzia and assured her that the government would continue to provide all possible legal and diplomatic support in the matter of her sister.

In January this year, former US President Joe Biden rejected Siddiqui’s clemency request submitted by her lawyer, Clive Stafford Smith, in a 76,500-word dossier, urging her release before the end of Biden’s term.

In October 2024, Pakistan’s prime minister had also urged the Biden administration for Siddiqui’s release, citing concerns about her treatment in prison and declining physical and mental health.

According to Siddiqui’s US indictment, the day after her arrest, she had allegedly grabbed an M-4 rifle in her interrogation room and began firing while shouting “Death to America.” No US agents or soldiers were hit, but Siddiqui was shot and wounded in response, prosecutors said. She was later convicted by a New York federal jury of attempted murder, armed assault and other charges.

Siddiqui was subsequently convicted in 2010 by a New York federal jury of attempted murder, armed assault and other charges. Siddiqui was never charged with links to terrorism.

Siddiqui’s family says she was visiting Pakistan in 2003 when she was abducted with her three children by Pakistani intelligence officials and handed to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which took her to Afghanistan. Pakistan’s intelligence agencies deny the claims.

ISLAMABAD: The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday warned that Pakistan’s flood-hit Punjab province has been witnessing an increase in vector-borne diseases even though provincial authorities have not yet reported any major outbreak.

Punjab, the country’s most populous and breadbasket province, has been facing a flood-emergency, fueled by above-normal rains and India’s release of excess water, which has affected more than 2.4 million people and killed 41 people in the last 10 days, according to the provincial disaster management authority (PDMA).

Authorities have relocated more than 900,000 people to relief camps, where the WHO says unsafe drinking water and mosquitoes pose the main epidemic risks, making displaced people vulnerable to diarrhea, typhoid, malaria, dengue and skin infections.

“Although no major outbreak has been reported so far, an upsurge has been detected for vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue, water-borne diseases like acute watery diarrhea, and skin diseases like scabies and eye infections,” Dr. Jose Ignacio Martin Galan, head of communications at the WHO Pakistan Country Office, told Arab News.

To reduce these risks, WHO has urged authorities to prioritize access to essential health services, medicines, diagnostic kits and psychosocial support, along with shelters, food, safe drinking water and sanitation facilities.

“Equally important are water, sanitation and hygiene interventions to reduce outbreak risks and the protection of vulnerable groups in relief camps,” Dr. Galan told Arab News.

Monsoon season brings South Asia 70 to 80 percent of its annual rainfall, but increasingly erratic and extreme weather patterns are turning the annual rains, which are vital for agriculture, food security and the livelihoods of millions of farmers, into a destructive force.

The Punjab government says it has already mobilized resources and more than 100,000 patients have received treatment at field hospitals in flood-hit districts.

“In Lahore alone, 9,000 people have been treated so far,” Punjab Health Minister Imran Nazir told Arab News, adding that over 850 relief camps are providing medicines and treatment for malaria, fever, rabies, snake bites, diarrhea and skin diseases.

“We are prepared for epidemics that may spread in the coming days. All kinds of medicines have been stocked in district, tehsil, and field hospitals.”

Nazir said special facilities have also been arranged for pregnant women who have been displaced by the deluges.

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has also directed local administration officials to ensure anti-mosquito, anti-insect spray in their areas.

“All commissioners and deputy commissioners are hereby directed to ensure timely and effective implementation of anti-mosquito, anti-insect spraying regime in their respective jurisdictions, especially in the rescue camps, in order to safeguard public health and prevent mosquito/insect borne diseases,” she said on X.

Health experts, however, urge more effective measures, saying unsafe drinking water remains the biggest threat to public health in flood-affected areas.

“If safe water supply cannot be ensured, simple filters or chlorine tablets with clear instructions in the local language should be provided,” Rana Asghar, an epidemiologist and former resident adviser at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told Arab News.