HAMMAD MEMON

ASHINGTON: US court has issued 86 years sentence to Dr. Afia Siddiuqi on seven counts including attempted murder, Geo News reported Thursday. "It is my judgement that Dr Siddiqui is sentenced to a period of incarceration of 86 years," said judge Richard Berman. Aafia Siddiqui, 38, denounced the trial and said an appeal would be "a waste of time. I appeal to God." “I want no bloodshed over my conviction and sentence,” Dr. Afia who was present in court said after the announcement of the sentence. Reacting angrily to the news, Dr. Fouzia Siddiqui, sister of Dr. Afia, at a press conference blamed Pakistani rulers for the sentence. “They (Pakistani rulers) failed to honour their promises to bring Dr. Afia back to Pakistan,” she added.

 LONDON: Former president Pervez Musharraf Wednesday blamed Chaudhry brothers for promulgation of National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO). In an exclusive interview with Geo News’ senior correspondent Sohail Warraich in London, Pervez Musharraf said: “We remained associated for five years and I had no differences whatsoever with Pervez Elahi.” He said all his meetings with former prime minister Benazir Bhutto were held on the request of Chaudhry brothers. “There is always a quid pro quo when two parties get down to hold talks,” he said. Pervez Musharraf said that it was his intention that neither Benazir Bhutto nor Nawaz Sharif be present in the country at the time of elections. He said Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain had objected to Benazir Bhutto’s becoming prime minister for the third term. He said both of them were on same page on scrapping of the cases because no court verdicts were coming. The former president further said that Benazir Bhutto could have become prime minister if she had participated in the elections. “I apologized people for NRO because it was a wrong decision; it led to a chaos in the country,” he said, adding, however that it was Chaudhry brothers who had misguided him.