Akram started his campaign during a service that was broadcast live on Facebook, but was subsequently cut short. The images have since been removed.
According to US media, the hostage-taker sought the release of his “sister” Aafia Siddiqui, a convicted Islamist terrorist nicknamed Lady Qaeda. Her lawyer later stated that the man is not related and that the violence is condemned.
US President Joe Biden confirmed that Akram was indeed seeking to force Siddiqui’s release with the hostage situation. Biden called the move an “act of terror”.
Pakistani scientist Siddiqui was sentenced in 2010 by a US judge to 86 years in prison for trying to kill Americans in Afghanistan. Her nickname refers to the terrorist organization Al Qaeda. She is in a prison not far from the site of the hostage-taking. Several extremist organizations, such as the terrorist group IS, have called for her release in recent years.