‘A humanist, not a terrorist’

“My husband has an incredible passion for saving lives. The media speculation does not fit the person he is,” says Saffiya Ganchi, the wife of Feroz Abubaker Ganchi, the doctor held in Pakistan for alleged links with al-Qaeda.

In the modest flat in Fordsburg, Johannesburg, Ganchi stares at the glass table with its scattering of daily newspapers their glaring headlines warning that “Al-Qaeda targets SA”.

In her late 20s, she looks like a thousand other South African Muslim housewives — but she refused to be photographed. Her conservative religious beliefs emerge from her habit of wearing a veil and hijab (full-length robe) when she ventures into the outside world. But she is sharp-witted and outspoken.

In an apparent daze, Ganchi scans the article claiming that her husband confessed to targeting sites in South Africa. “It’s all pure speculation. There are undisputable facts about who Feroz is and where he comes from; they don’t compare with these allegations.”

To each damning allegation — that Feroz is a new recruit to Osama bin Laden’s network, or that he has been under South African surveillance for the past year — she replies that there is no evidence. “While I realise the seriousness of the situation, I find the claims — for example, that they planned to blow up Ellis Park and the Carlton Centre — hilarious. And I think he would laugh at them.”

The couple, married for three years, had travelled extensively, she said.

“We are extremely patriotic people who fully support the government of our country. We think they are doing a great job. I can’t understand why anybody of our mind-set would have any gripes with tourist sites or popular places like the Carlton Centre.”

She also produces documentation and a DVD showing that her husband had worked as doctor in Pakistan in recent years.

According to media reports, Ganchi and his travelling partner, Zubair Ismail (20), were arrested last week along with 13 alleged al-Qaeda operatives in a house in Gujarat, Pakistan. One of the 13 was Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, a Tanzanian on the FBI’s “most wanted” list in connection with the 1998 bombing of US embassy buildings in Kenya and Tanzania.

Ganchi first learned of her husband’s arrest from a July 25 newspaper report that his companion, Ismail and a second South African, were being held by Pakistani authorities.

“The article did not mention Feroz, but I knew it must be him.” The last time she had spoken to him was 10 days earlier, when he called to say he and Ismail were about to leave Lahore to travel to outlying villages. “He sounded excited because they were going on a hike.”

The two men, still in Pakistani custody, have not been charged and have been denied access to South African consular representatives.

On Thursday the government criticised media reports, sourced from unnamed Pakistani officials, claiming the two men had planned to attack South African targets, including the Union Buildings and Johannesburg’s Carlton Centre.

“The government wishes to express its outrage at the manner in which these matters have been aired, without any credible substantiation from security agencies in our country and in Pakistan,” said government spokesperson Joel Netshitenzhe.

He said the media should “exercise restraint” in dealing with matters that could lead to “unwarranted alarm among the public”.

No pictures of the couple adorn the walls in the Ganchis’ modestly furnished two-bedroom flat. Flipping through a file, Ganchi produces a picture of her husband in a Netcare 911 uniform standing beside an ambulance. At a glance he looks similar to many Muslim men who live in Fordsburg — with a long dark beard and spectacles.

She is convinced he is the victim of a misunderstanding. Even she might be considered a terrorist because of the hijab she wears in public, she insists.

“Feroz’s unconditional and unrelenting desire to serve humanity and help people could very easily result in him being in the wrong place at the wrong time. My concern is that the snowball effect [the media frenzy] is making them guilty until proven innocent.”

Ganchi said her husband’s trip to Pakistan was intended partly as a holiday, but also as an opportunity to give medical assistance where it was needed. He decided to take the trip after passing his primary surgical exams in March and had three months free before starting in a new post at the Johannesburg hospital in October.

“He decided that he needed to do something with the time. Because of his passion for humanitarian work and the fact that we both love travelling he decided to do some work in Pakistan.”

She said she was unable to accompany her husband because of her work. She is a professional woman, but asked the Mail & Guardian not to disclose her precise occupation.

Ganchi pulls out letters from Netcare and a South African-based relief agency, together with other testimonials showing that in 2001 Feroz worked as a doctor on the Pakistani-Afghan border helping refugees.

“He has always wanted to go back to see the country. It was a dream trip, involving two of his greatest passions; travel and humanitarian aid. But it turned out to be a nightmare.”

Ganchi said her husband was well known for such charitable work as serving as a voluntary doctor at the Hillbrow hospital on New Year’s Eve.

“He has been involved in extensive volunteer relief and humanitarian work in South Africa with refugees and for Netcare 911,” she said.

Proudly producing a videotaped documentary on the Hillbrow hospital’s trauma unit, she said her husband had made himself available to go out on emergency calls at any time of the night.

Speculative journalism had blackened his name, she complained. “My first feeling after reading the article was that the whole thing would be cleared up soon, and he would come home.”

But after days of waiting and no word from him, she was starting to feel the strain. Legal experts say Pakistani military law does not require a jailed suspect to be charged within a given period, meaning that he could be held indefinitely.

“I wanted to jump on the first plane to Pakistan but people more rational than me convinced me that I could be more effective here.”

Ganchi said the Pakistani embassy had been helpful, assuring her that her husband would not be abused in prison.