By Asim Tanveer
MULTAN, Pakistan, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Pakistan vowed on Friday to repatriate a scientist sentenced to an effective life term in the United States as hundreds of people protested against the ruling, denouncing their government and its ally Washington.
Many in Pakistan, a key U.S. ally in the war against militants and where anti-U.S. sentiment also run high, believe Aafia Siddiqui, a 38-year-old neuroscientist, is innocent.
Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani said his government, heavily criticised for its inept handling of the worst floods in the country's history, told parliament "no stone had been left unturned" to secure the return of the "daughter of the nation".
"I told them (the United States) that if you release Dr. Aafia Siddiqui then it will improve your public image, even if you decrease your financial assistance for Pakistan," he said.
U.S. District Judge Richard Berman on Thursday sentenced Siddiqui to 86 years in prison after she was convicted in May of shooting at FBI agents and soldiers after her arrest in Afghanistan. [nN23192977]
Protesters in the city of Multan burnt U.S. flags and pictures of President Barack Obama and former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, who many Pakistanis accuse of handing over Siddiqui to the United States.
In Karachi, police baton charged protesters as they tried to march towards the U.S. consulate. Some of the protesters were also detained, police said.
The Pakistani Taliban also threatened "retaliatory strikes" to secure Siddiqui's release, but the group, which has made similar threats before, has so far failed to successfully carry out any overseas attacks.
Siddiqui was arrested in July 2008 by Afghan police who said she was carrying two pounds (900 grams) of sodium cyanide and notes referring to mass-casualty attacks and New York landmarks.
(Additional reporting by Faisal Aziz, Athar Hussain and Saud Mehsud; Writing by Zeeshan Haider; Editing by Chris Allbritton and Rebecca Conway)
(For more Reuters coverage of Afghanistan and Pakistan, see: http://www.reuters.com/places/pakistan.
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