ISLAMABAD — The Prime Minister of Pakistan has reached out to U.S. President Joe Biden in an effort to secure the release of a Pakistani woman who is currently serving an 86-year sentence in the United States on terrorism-related charges, a government lawyer revealed in court on Friday.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s letter was presented in an Islamabad court during proceedings related to a petition filed by the sister of Aafia Siddiqui, a neuroscientist with training in the U.S. who was convicted in 2010 on several charges, including an attempt to kill U.S. nationals.

Siddiqui became a person of interest in terrorism after leaving the United States and marrying the nephew of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who claims responsibility for orchestrating the September 11, 2001 attacks. In 2008, she sustained injuries during a standoff with U.S. forces in Afghanistan, where it was reported that she fired upon them.

A copy of Sharif’s letter, sent on October 13, indicated that the prime minister informed Biden that Siddiqui has already spent 16 years in prison.

Sharif emphasized that her case should be treated with compassion, noting that numerous Pakistani officials have made consular visits and expressed grave concerns regarding her treatment, which has taken a toll on her mental and physical well-being.

He expressed fears for her safety, suggesting that officials worry she might contemplate taking her own life as a result of her circumstances. In his appeal to Biden, Sharif urged the president to consider the clemency petition submitted by Siddiqui’s sister, imploring for her release based on humanitarian grounds.

“The family of Siddiqui, along with millions of my fellow citizens, joins me in hoping for a positive response to this request,” he stated in his letter to Biden.

Siddiqui’s family has consistently claimed that she went missing in Karachi in 2003, accusing the regime of former military leader Pervez Musharraf of covertly transferring her to U.S. authorities.

During Musharraf’s administration, Pakistan aligned itself with the United States in its anti-terrorism efforts post-9/11 and arrested many suspects, handing them over to various countries, including the United States.