Afghan authorities handed over to Pakistan on Monday the son of a Pakistani woman who is held by the United States for suspected links with Al-Qaeda members. Afghan police say they arrested Aafia Siddiqui, a US trained neuroscientist and her son Ali Hassan, outside the governor's office in Ghazni province in July after becoming suspicious of her behavior. US soldiers in Afghanistan later took Siddiqui under their custody after she allegedly grabbed a US warrant officer's rifle during an interrogation session and fired at them, US officials said. While Siddiqui was flown to New York to face federal charges of assault and attempted murder, her 12-year-old son remained in Afghan custody prompting calls by Pakistan and rights group for his release. “Under the presidential order of Hamid Karzai, we hand over Ali Hassan, 12, to Pakistan authorities,” Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman, Sultan Ahmad Baheen, told reporters during a ceremony in Kabul. “We hope this step should symbolize friendly ties with our neighboring nation Pakistan,” he said. It was not immediately clear if Hassan would be returned to his family in Pakistan. Pakistan's parliament has separately urged the United States to repatriate Aafia who was shot in the abdomen during the incident in Ghazni province. Until her arrest in July, Siddiqui had been declared as missing by rights groups since she left her parents' house in Karachi, Pakistan in March 2003. Her lawyers say they believe she was held in Bagram air base in Afghanistan by US authorities. In 2004, Siddiqui was identified by the FBI as an “Al-Qaeda operative and facilitator who posed a clear and present danger to America.” Siddiqui was married to a nephew of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the accused mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks. Her husband was captured in 2003 and is now held at the US military prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The arrest of Siddiqui was the first time in five years that she had been publicly seen. Her family and lawyers allege she had been held captive since disappearing in 2003 – possibly in a secret US or allied prison. US officials have denied the charge.
